Bakugan Gundalian Invadors - The Remake
by Kairi Skyes
Summary: The brawlers are back for a new adventure. Bakugan Interspace is finally up and running, with the help of their new friend Ren. Everything seems peaceful now, Shun's the number 1 brawler, there's a war between aliens, everything is going great...wait what? Please note that this will have M/M pairings in it, and more warnings to be added in future chapters
1. Chapter 1 - A New Beginning

**I do not own Bakugan, all copyrights go the creators**

**This is a remake of Gundalian Invadors, I literally had plot bunnies invade my head over this and had to write it down**

* * *

"Ugh Where is he? He's going to be so late!"

"JULIE! STOP SHOUTING YOU'RE GOING TO SCARE THE CUSTOMERS AWAY!"

Julie jumped

"Ah! Right I am so sorry boss'' apologised the silver haired girl in front of the café. Julie closed her eyes and took a breath, before opening them and looking around the street

"Jake better get here soon, he can't keep Marucho waiting for long" she said to herself

"Hey Julie"

Julie turned around to see a red head, 15yrs old guy running towards her. Julie sighed and a smile of relief came on her face as she spoke. "There you are Jake, what took you so long. You're going to be late meeting Marucho and the others"

Jake had a sheepish smile on his face as he scratched the back of his head "he, he sorry I was playing football with my siblings and lost track of time" he apologised

Julie just gave a small shake of her head in amusement, unable to stay mad at the guy. She had a bit of a soft spot for him seeing as he was one of her first friends upon moving to Bayview

"So are you excited for your first bakugan" she asked him

A large grin appeared on Jake's face as he fist pumped the air "You bet! Hey, do you think I'll get a real bakugan?"

Julie blinked 'A real bakugan?' she repeated

"Yeah one that can talk. I've only known the virtual kind, I thought they were just made of data until you showed me Gorem" he answered her

"Oh, maybe. Who knows, but you better start going if you want to make it in time" she replied to him

"Ah you're right, I'll see you later Julie" and with that Jake ran off

Julie watched him run off giggling to herself "He reminds me of Dan a bit"

She regretted it as soon as the words came out, a solemn look on her face and her eyes had gone misty

"Oh…. right" she murmured as she turned around to get back to work

* * *

After getting awed, and lost, upon entering Bakugan Interspace, Jake finally made it to main plaza where he and Marucho were to meet

"I love it! This place is awesome" he said aloud

"this place is where players from all around the world could come and relax. It's also a place where you can exchange helpful hints and strategies, whilst searching for opponents to battle against"

Jake turned around to the direction of the voice, a short, bespectacled blond

"Hello, you must be Jake, Julie's friend. I'm Marucho one of her old friends from back home" greeted Marucho

Jake clasped his hands together "Little dude! I know all about you, Julie told me all sorts of stories about the old days"

Marucho smiled "He, he I bet she has, anyway as a token of newfound friendship why don't we get you your own bakugan" Marucho then clicked on his bakumeter were a blue light flashed and two bakugan virtualised – a chaos and a subterra

"Go ahead, come and pick one Jake" he said

"Woah are you serious?" Jake asked as he walked up to him, Marucho nodded his head and assured him

Jake looked back and forth between the two, before deciding upon subterra

"Ah subterra Coredem, nice choice" Marucho said as he registered Jake's details into the system

"Good – to – meet- you – little – buddy" he spoke to the bakugan in a loud robotic sounding voice.

After a few moments of silence, he turned to Marucho and asked, "So uh… how come he doesn't talk to me?"

"That's because he's a digital clone, a synthetic version of the original. Compared to a real bakugan the digitals ones aren't programmed to speak" Marucho calmly replied back

"So, then he's not a real bakugan" Jake said with a bit of disappointment, although he was still glad that he received his first bakugan. He shook his head and a large grin plastered onto his face "Ah well I can't wait to have my first battle though"

Marucho frowned a little as he looked at the multiple screens in the area, showcasing the battle in live play. "Unfortunately, all the battle arenas are full at the moment"

However, that didn't seem to deter Jake as he commented "Woah look how popular this place is, I can't believe how great you made all this" he said in amazement

"Thank you, but a lot of the credit in this lies with Ren" a flashback going through his head, as he looked back to the day when Shun and he first met Ren, and to how much he has helped to create Bakugan Interspace

"Ren?" Jake asked as he's never heard of the guy

"Yes, one of our friends, if Ren never showed up then I don't think that there's any way Bakugan Interspace would have made it past the prototype stage" explained Marucho

"If anyone deserves the credit, it's you Marucho" they looked to see a gold-eyed, silver haired guy smirking at them

"Oh, hi there Ren. This is my new friend—" "Jake Valory"

"Huh?" both Marucho and Jake looked at him in surprise

"I understand this your first time here, and that subterra Coredem is your partner bakugan" Ren said

Jake blinked astonished "Uh...Yeah…"

Ren smirked "Relax I just viewed your registration data, that's all" he said to him

Marucho turned to Jake to explain "You see Ren is the head of Data Management for Bakugan Interspace"

Once Jake reached understanding Ren continued "Since all the battle arenas are full, why don't you go watch one. I think Shun is currently battling in arena F-12, why don't we check it out"

Jake suddenly got excited and had stars in his eyes "Wait did you just say Shun, as in THE Shun Kazami of the battle brawlers" he yelled

Marucho smiled at his eagerness "That a good idea, that way you can get an idea on how the battle system works here, before experiencing one of your own." He then pressed a button on his bakumeter, which caused a golden portal to open up

The three of them went through, to come out on the other side to see a battle underway. Between a large chaos brawler and a certain ventus ninja. The ninja was winning

'_Battle over and the victory goes to Shun Kazami'_ the announcer shouted as the battle ended

Once Shun's bakugan returned to him, he made his way to the group

"Way to go Shun" congratulated Marucho

"As expected from the number one brawler" Ren commented, however once he said it there came some regret, once he saw the brief look on Marucho and Shun's faces, but it was gone as soon as it came

Jake never noticed as he looked at the ranking board "Oh wow, 1st place is Shun and Marucho's in 2nd. That is so cool!"

Ren smirked at Jake and said "You're up next Jake my friend" which confused the rest of the group

"What are you talking about Ren?" questioned Marucho

"Well I shifted the battle orders around a bit. To move him up" he said, which caused some dismay between the two veteran brawlers

Whilst Marucho berated Ren about the order Shun looked at the battle announcements. It looked like he was going to be brawling again sooner than he thought

"You're up Jake, thank your lucky stars. Not many people get to go up against the top-rated brawler in their first battle" Ren told him

Jake looked at the announcement board "I really don't know if I can do this in front of all these people" he started to panic

'_And facing off against Shun is a first-time participant – Ren Krawler'_

…...huh?

The group looked at Ren, two in bewilderment and one in questioning

Ren had a mirth look in his eyes as he spoke "Oops, whoopsie. Looks like I messed up the order, its probably for the best anyway. This way you get to watch two pros go at it first" he didn't even sound like he was sorry

"That's not funny Ren"

"I bet he planned it that way"

"You did this to embarrass me"

Ren smirked as he walked away "Better not keep the fans waiting Shun"

* * *

"Bakugan field open!"

The battle had started between Shun and Ren, the crowd cheering them on. Whilst Marucho and Jake watched from the side-lines

"I just realised I've never seen Ren battle before; this might be over as soon as it starts" exclaimed Marucho

"Bakugan brawl, bakugan stand. Rise darkus Linehalt" shouted Ren as he sent out his bakugan

Jake stared at the towering bakugan in awe "W-what bakugan is that Marucho?"

"I don't know, I've never seen it before" he replied

The battle started close with neither brawler backing down, until a hit from Hawktor sent Linehalt back to his ball form

The crowd had gone wild

"Oh yeah he totally schooled him" Jake cheered

**Got to say I didn't expect Ren to be a pushover, but I didn't think he'd be this good either he's got some skill. He gave Hawktor some pretty good shots, guess he's not just a punk** thought Shun as he prepared for round two

Shun lost the second round as Ren activated his gate card _'Freeze Enemy'_

"Come on Shun, I expected more from the top brawler, you're sure your number one right" teased Ren

Shun said nothing as he sent his bakugan back out to start round three

As the battle continued it looked as though Ren was going to lose

"You are as tough as your reputation says Shun…I was hoping to save this for later" he said before activation his bakumeter

'_Ready Boomix'_

What looked to be battle gear materialised

"What! Ren's got battle gear!" shouted Marucho as he and Jake looked in shock. It appears the tide of the battle has turned

Shun got over the initial shock as he quickly activated his own battle gear. **Two can play at that game** he thought

The battle was becoming more intense, Jake was getting hyped from just watching

"This is so awesome"

"There power levels are even now" Marucho commented. **I don't think I've seen a battle like this since New Vestroia with**…Marucho shook his head **No I can't think about that now; I need to focus on the battle**. He watched as both of his friends activated their battle gears abilities

Everyone watched in suspense as the battle heated up, an uneasy sensation started to build up within Shun he could sense something was wrong

And as usual…. he was right

The collision of the abilities caused and explosion

"WHAT THE!" at Jake's yell, Marucho quickly jumped into action

"I need an emergency shutdown of the system! Terminate this battle immediately!" he called into his bakumeter

Shun watched as Ren got blasted away from were, he stood, before he too got blown away from the stadium

* * *

_Shun's P.O.V_

"Ugh…what just happened" I groaned as my eyes slowly opened**, feels like I got battered by Grandpa's stick**

As my eyes adjusted, I realised that something wasn't right

"Where am I?"

I wasn't in Bakugan Interspace anymore, instead I was in some sort of barren landscape

A laser beam was shot just a few feet away from me, I quickly got to my feet. Just as I did there was an explosion behind me, and I jumped away from it. My Grandfather's training sure comes in handy at times…not that he needs to know that

Once I safely landed I a group of bakugan I've never seen before and…spaceships!

'Destroy the enemy bakugan, all forces advance' a voice out of nowhere sounded. And a chaos fox/wolf type bakugan started charging

Just as it was coming closer more shots were fired, this time coming from the opposite direction

"What the heck is going on here" I shouted, quickly running to get to a safer place

When I thought it was safe, the ground beneath me shook and I jumped out of the way. Just in time too as an aquos bakugan emerged from where I stood

When I checked to see if it was safe, my breath caught in my throat. It felt like my heart stopped and that everything just froze. When my voice caught up, I started to call out, and then there was nothing but a bright light

* * *

_NO P.O.V_

Marucho, Jake and Ren gathered around their unconscious friend, worrying about him

They had managed to evacuate everyone safely and it seemed that there was no damage to the system. The only casualties were Ren who luckily just blacked out briefly, and Shun who was still unconscious

They sighed in relief as Shun started to stir, but it quickly turned to concern as the movement started to become more rapid and agitated like, as though he was having a horrible nightmare. Shun suddenly sat up, and his voice cried out

"DAN!"

…..

Shun blinked as he slowly came to his senses, noticing his friends around him with worried faces. And his hand stretched out in front of him as though it was reaching out to something.

"Are you alright Shun?" Ren asked him

"Y-yeah…what just happened" he asked he was still reeling from what he just saw

"There was a massive explosion dude, Marucho had to pull the plug on the battle" Jake answered him

"More importantly are you okay Shun?" Marucho said quickly getting to the main point of concern

"Yeah, I think so, I don't remember the accident though, I remember seeing things though…a dream maybe" Shun mumbled the last part. The others were worried as he wasn't acting like himself, something must have really shaken him up

"A dream? ...first of all calm down….then tell me what you saw" Ren told him

Shun took his advice and calmed himself down. He then proceeded to tell them about the bakugan and how they seemed to be at war with each other. However, he left out what he saw at the end of his dream.

"How can that happen? It makes no sense"

"Why would the bakugan be at war with each other? You must have been hallucinating"

Shun felt a little bit ticked of there at their reactions. **I know it doesn't make sense, but I can't exactly help what I saw, I saw what I saw!**

Ren let the exclamations die down before speaking "Why don't we talk about this another time. A lot has happened today so we're all a bit shaken up right now. Let's call it a day and get some rest"

Everyone else was too shaken up by the day's events to argue, so they went their separate ways

However, and ominous feeling still washed over them, as though something big was coming

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed and please leave a review :)**


	2. Chapter 2 - Revelations Part 1

_And here's the new chapter, hope you enjoy!_

* * *

_Beep…beep…beep_

_Beep…beep…beep_

'_fwoosh…thud'_

…

And so, the poor alarm clock met it unfortunate untimely death. All at the hands of a ninja throwing star

Shun, however, did not care as he… begrudgingly, awoken from a deep sleep. His eyes adjusting to the bright sunlight in his bedroom. His body was still exhausted as he rolled on to his back to look up at the ceiling. His mind wandering to yesterday's events…more importantly his vision

**What was that back then, it felt so real…and yet strange at the same time**

It was at times like this, that he wished he had Skyress or Ingrim's advice, but they were back in New Vestroia. He was even tempted to phone his Grandfather, and seek his guidance, but ultimately decided against it as he didn't want to worry the elderly man

Shun rolled back to his side, the first thing coming to his vision was a picture frame on the bedside table. That picture was taken just before he left for New Vestroia. It was of him and dan

It was taken by Dan's mom during a visit to the park. It was probably one of Shun's most treasured memories, it also brought him back to what confused him the most

**When I looked back, I saw him. Dan was on that field, he saw me to, but…that's not possible**

Shun lay in bed for a few more moments before getting up to the bathroom. Staying in bed all day won't help figure things out.

As the water from his shower cascaded down his back, Shun thought back to the previous day

_(Flashback)_

Marucho had insisted on taken Shun to the medical room, whilst Ren showed Jake the way out. He was more than a little concerned about Shun having a concussion, and something hadn't been sitting right with him since Shun woke up

"I'm fine Marucho, I just need to go home" Shun told him, about the sixth time already

"It's only a precaution Shun. Now just hold still whilst the scanner does its job"

Shun finally gave up and let Marucho do what he wanted, he knew he wasn't going to get out of this easily and he was just too exhausted to care.

The computer completed the scan and Marucho was relieved once he saw the results. Shun took that as his cue to sit up and leave, but he couldn't just yet

…

"Spit it out, there's something else you want to say isn't there"

Marucho flinched at the comment, however it was true

Hesitantly he asked "Earlier when you woke up… You shouted D-Dan's name. Why?"

Shun looked away, if you looked closely you could see some pink showing on his face. **Did I really say that out loud?**

Waiting until he was sure the blush was gone, he turned back to Marucho who patiently waited

"I saw him in my dream"

Marucho blinked in surprise, he honestly didn't expect to receive and answer, but he did, he let Shun continue

"He was there in that field, between the waring bakugan. He saw me as well, I'm sure of it"

_(Mini-Flashback)_

As I was calling out Dan turned around. His eyes widened as he locked onto mine, reddish brown orbs full of shock

A blast got shot out and it was aiming right where he was standing, just as I called out to warn him, that bright light appeared

_(End Mini-Flashback)_

"But that's impossible Shun" Marucho said once Shun had finished

"You think I don't know that!" Shun spat out, seeing Marucho flinch with hurt in his eyes Shun quickly apologised

Although part of him wanted to believe what Shun saw was real, he knew he also had to face the reality. Even if they hated it

"Shun… We have to face facts; Dan is never coming back" he said his voice having a sad tone in it

He watched as his ninja friend clenched his hand, Marucho spoke the truth but it was still hard to accept it

"Even if Dan were alive, why hasn't he contacted us and why delete his account on the bakugan ranking site. It makes no sense" Marucho continued on "Let's face it Shun he's gone, and even if here were still here than it means that Dan doesn't want to be found"

_(End Flashback)_

Shun switched the shower off

**Maybe he's right… I'm just getting my hopes up. Dan loved bakugan there's no way he would quit**

Shun finished getting dried and dressed, he then headed straight to the kitchen realising just how hungry he was. He never ate anything yesterday, as soon as he got home to his apartment he went straight to sleep. And he's slept most of the day.

Shun made up some toast and a cup of tea, sitting on the counter he turned the tv on to watch the news. Ever since moving to Bayview to live by himself this became a habit to turn the tv on for some background noise, especially when his bakugan went to New Vestroia for a visit.

Don't get him wrong, he normally liked the peace and quiet, but there's only so much that one person could take. He could never get over the fact that his Grandfather let him move out to live on his own, even more so that it was his Grandfather who heled to find the right apartment for him. Close enough to Bakugan Interspace and school, and because Marucho lived nearby he let him turn one of the rooms in his house into a dojo. The only condition of moving out was that he had to keep continuing his training and that his school grades stayed up

_Ring…ring…ring_

**I thought I killed that piece of junk already** thought Shun until he realised it was his bakumeter

It was the brawler's emergency beacon

* * *

"An alien!"

Shun, Marucho, Ren and Jake were seated in Marucho's office listening to what Ren had to say

"I'm sorry to have to spring the news on you. I'll understand if you're mad, but for now we have more pressing issues" he told them

"We're listening, so let's hear it" spoke Shun

"I come from a planet in a distant dimension called Gundalia. Much like you humans on earth we existed peacefully with our bakugan. But then one day a hostile tribe called the Neathians invaded our planet using their bakugan" Ren stopped briefly to let the others digest this information before continuing on

"I'm pretty sure that Shun's visions of waring bakugan were coming from my world. The explosion from our bakugan must have caused a distortion, which allowed Shun's mind to travel there in its unconscious state"

Marucho suddenly remembered something "It makes more sense now" not realising he said it aloud because the others looked at him confused

"Sorry" he apologised "But I just remembered a story that Preyus told me about. It was a legend about when Vestroia's core split and created the world of six attributed. The enormous amount of energy used to create is said to have blown some bakugan into another dimension" he explained "my theory is that those bakugan may have ended up in your world"

"But even if all that stuff is true, it doesn't explain what you're doing on earth" said Jake, who was internally having a freak-out moment. Marucho and Shun may be used to all this, but cut him some slack this is all new to him

Ren looked back at him and then continued his explanation

"The Neathian bakugan were trained as soldiers from birth, whereas our bakugan in Gundalia were raised in an atmosphere of peace, because of that we lack the skills to even match them in battle"

"Our peaceful existence has been attacked by these Neathians and our freedom is at stake. I too have heard the legends in reverse of bakugan existing elsewhere" Ren then looked directly towards Shun and Marucho

"I also learned of the mighty warriors known as the Bakugan Battle Brawlers"

**I knew something was off about Ren, the moment he showed up.** **This explains so much** thought Shun

"Yes, so now I suppose you want our help. But why should we believe you" he demanded to Ren, his voice full of suspicion and distrust

Ren was angered by Shun's words as he spoke harshly back

"Perhaps you'd like to see the cities of my planet that have been left in ruins! Or maybe I could show you the Neathian moles that have already infiltrated Bakugan Interspace!" that last part got everyone's full attention

"What! Moles!" shouted Jake "As in those sleeper agents?"

Ren nodded in affirmation

"But what do they want?" question Marucho, who was angry that Bakugan Interspace, a place he created for the people to enjoy themselves, was being used for evil intentions

"The same thing that I do of course. To recruit the Bakugan Battle Brawlers to their side, so that they could crush their enemies once and for all" Ren told them

The anger Marucho felt exploded all at once

"BAKUGAN INTERSPACE IS NOT FOR WAR!"

Ren calmly spoke to him "I understand. We never asked to be attacked, and we like the fighting to over as soon as possible" he paused giving the brawlers a chance to calm down. In the meantime, he took that chance to read the faces to see how they felt

Marucho still looked upset, Jake looked overwhelmed by all this. And Shun… he couldn't tell; his face was carefully calm showing no sign of expression.

He continued on with his speech "Which is why I'm coming to you brawlers. So please will you help me!"

It didn't take long before he had his answer

"We can't allow these Neathians creeps to get away with this"

"They infiltrated Bakugan Interspace which is meant for peaceful purposes. They're going to pay for that"

"We need to protect the kids inside as well as the bakugan. Bakugan aren't meant to be used as war machines"

Marucho spoke for all of them "Its unanimous then, We're all in. You can count on us Ren"

Ren stood up and bowed his head to them "Thank you for agreeing to help out. Gundalia is in your debt" he thanked them

He then started to press some buttons on the computer terminal unit, two user profile showed up on screen

"I've managed to identify two sleeper agents. They are Sid Arkale and Lena Isis"

Marucho activated his bakumeter to locate them "they're currently located in the main plaza right now"

Jake shot up "Well what are we waiting for, lets show them whose boss around here" and with that he ran off and out the door

Marucho and Shun were about to follow until Ren's voice stopped them

"Wait Shun, Marucho! There's something else that you two need to know about, its important" his voice holding a tone of urgency in it

"we'll have to discuss it later; we can't let Jake run off alone" Shun told him before running after the red head

Marucho looked back at Ren as said "We can come back later on, and then you can tell us"

Ren nodded in agreement. The two then followed their friends


	3. Chapter 3 - Revelations Part 2

**I do not own Bakugan, all copyrights go the creators**

* * *

_(Recap) _

Ren has told the brawlers about his home planet's war, and they have agreed to help him. Now that they have the whereabouts of the sleeper agents Sid and Lena, they've gone to confront them. Will the brawlers come out victorious? And what does Ren need to tell Shun and Marucho?

_(End Recap)_

The brawlers have found the two Neathians in the main plaza, the sight that greeted them left a bitter taste in their mouths. The two sleeper agents had cornered some kids and were trying to force them to battle.

As they got closer the two kids ran off when the large blond shouted at them. Marucho had enough of it and went to get their attention

"Excuse me guys" the two Neathians turned their heads to him, satisfied he had their attention he continued "By any chance are you two Sid and Lena?"

"Depends on whose asking" the blue haired bespectacled women asked

"The Bakugan Battle Brawlers" replied Shun

Technically I'm still a brawler in training quietly thought Jake

Lena smirked as soon as she heard the name

"Now that we're well acquainted with each other, why don't you tell us what is it you want" she said to them

Shun spoke back to her "We're here because we heard you two were looking for a battle"

"Bakugan Interspace is for gaming not war. I won't let you Neathians exploit it for those purposes" claimed Marucho

This time it was Sid who spoke up "Easy now, we're just here to have fun" he claimed, however the undertone of malice in his voice told a different story

Shun started to take notice of the spectators around them, a few kids must have started listening in. He suggested to the group that they move somewhere with more privacy, luckily for them that the two Neathians agreed

In the end Marucho took them all to a battle arena

"Since you like secrecy so much I got us a private arena. That way we don't have to hold back" he told the group.

"That's just how we like it" Lena replied, both her and Sid still had suspicious smiles on their faces

"So, which two rodents are going to take us on" Sid sneered at them, attempting to rile the upcoming opponents to be

"Us" Shun said as he and Marucho stepped forward. The four brawlers took their places whilst Jake and Ren watched from the side-lines. Sid was the one to make the first move

"I'll get this party started" he shouted as he threw down his gate card

"Bakugan brawl, bakugan stand… Rise Pyrus Rubinoid" Rubinoind looked like that of a dragonoid but covered in rubies

Shun took that as his cue "Bakugan stand, let's go Hawktor"

"he doesn't look so tough" Sid commented as he activated his ability card. Shun countered him by activating his own ability. What happened after Hawktor's attack finished came as shock to the brawlers

"Looks like your attacks have a little kick to them"

"You can talk!" Shun gasped

"That means he's not a digital clone then" said Marucho

"Remember the Neathians use real bakugan in battle" reminded Ren "There from the same lineage as your original bakugan, more in particular dragonoid"

"Wow that's pretty cool" Jake said in awe

"They might even be related to Drago then" said Marucho

"Real or digital, they can't compare to Drago" Shun commented

Marucho nodded in agreement "Okay it's my turn now"

"Bakugan brawl, bakugan stand…Come out Aquos Akwimos"

Lena pushed her glasses up whilst speaking "Based on my initial analysis I predict a win for my side" She then sent out her own bakugan – Aquos Phosphos

She then activated an ability card which caused the three headed bakugan to spit out a blue mist on Hawktor

"Hawktor!"

Lena then went on to explain the ability's effects

"You've been stung by Phosphos' paralysis venom, you can't activate your abilities now"

Shun watched unhappy as his bakugan's power level dropped. Marucho was quick to act though

"Sit tight Shun I've got this, ability activate – _Heal Blue_" Akwimos then shot out a blue light at Hawktor, and both bakugan's power levels rose. Shun sent a grateful nod to Marucho

"Awesome! Marucho nullified her ability" Jake cheered

"Not only that, it caused their bakugan's power levels to rise" commented Ren

Sid smirked "So what, big deal. Gate card open – _Enemy Down_"

The gate card beneath the bakugan glowed and their power levels started to drop again

"Not so fast!" shouted Marucho "Ability activate – _Ninja Eraser_"

Akwimos jumped in the air and then attacked the ground, effectively destroying the gate card and its effects

"Good going Marucho. Ability activate – _Fly Fang/Hyper Storm_" however Shun's attack was no good under Sid's counterattack

Che, these guys are good none of my abilities are working Shun thought annoyed

Lena activated her ability – _Gorgon Viper_. Which caused more heads to emerge from Phosphos. Seriously hasn't this guy got enough already

Phosphos sent out his venom again. Unable to withstand it Akwimos lost, causing Marucho to lose his life points

"Shun better think of something fast or its lights out for them both"

**The big oaf is right, how is he going to get out of this** Ren thought

**Come on think, I'm missing something here…missing something? That's it! **

Shun smirked as he activated his bakumeter

_'Ready Swaythor'_ his bakumeter said as the battle gear materialised

"Battle gear boost!" shouted Shun

"he was able to launch his battle gear" exclaimed Rubinoid

Shun then activated his gear's ability and was able to take down Phosphos

"So much for that strategy" Lena disappointedly said

Hawktor then fired at Rubinoid. **This is going to hurt** the ruby bakugan thought

"That is some heavy fire power"

"Indeed" Lena agreed with Sid as their life points went down

Shun threw down his gate card as the second half of the battle started again

Lena went straight with the venom again, attacking Akwimos leaving him and Marucho out for the count. It was just down to three now

"Oh no! I can't believe they beat us" Marucho was upset

"But why? He knew about the venom" Jake was confused by the results

Ren explained to him "Most brawlers will use a variety method of attacks in battle. She however stayed with one, it faked him out"

Sid activated his ability card – _Joule Deeper_, however Shun countered with his own – _Ninja Defence/Spiral Twister_, which added another 400Gs to his bakugan's power lever from both opponents

Sid laughed "This is fun" he said, "Lena maybe we need to up our game I think". Lena agreed and they both activated their own battle gears. Prompting Shun to do the same

Sid activated his battle gear's ability which in cased Hawktor in a ruby like prism, and Rubinoid then attacked him

Lena followed suit "Victory is ours now"

"Think again! Gate card open – _Capacity Booster_"

The bakugans power all returned to base levels

Lena was started to get quite agitated "Why won't he go down? I don't get it"

Shun smirked "Maybe I should let you in on the gate cards effects. The command card also increases my bakugan's battle gear power"

"What! That means that – ""He's going to activate a level two class ability"

"Battle gear ability activate!"

Both Neathians watched as their bakugan were defeated, causing them to lose the battle

"You did it Shun! Way to go" cheered Marucho.

However, Shun's instincts were telling him that something wasn't right. Why were Lena and Sid still smiling?

"Thank you for the exciting battle gentlemen"

"Heh, yeah it was real educational. Alright let's go Rubinoid"

Both Neathians were developed in a light and then they were suddenly gone. But everyone knew that it wasn't over, and that they'll be back

As Jake and Ren caught up to the winners, Shun turned to Ren

"Ren those two battlers aren't the only moles from Neathia are they" what he said wasn't a question, it was a statement

"No, I highly doubt it" he answered

Jake whooped "Who cares, they'll be no match for us. I'll take them all on"

"Tough talk for someone who hasn't brawled yet" Marucho teased

As the two bickered Ren's thoughts took him to what he analysed from that battle. **Well Shun Kazami your strength, ingenuity and finesse in battle are all very impressive. You are indeed a most powerful brawler, however your still not number one!**

* * *

"So, what did you need to tell us Ren?"

It was late in the evening, after the battle

Jake had gone home for the day leaving Shun, Marucho and Ren sitting back in Marucho's office

"Right…I'm not sure how to put this, but I know you guys will not like what I have to say. However, you have the right to know. He gave them both a quick glance, trying to choose his words carefully

"It's regarding your old friend…Dan" he noticed both brawlers tense at the mention of the name

Marucho quickly stopped him before he could continue. He needed to, as soon as his name was mentioned painful memories started coming to mind

"Ren, stop! He's gone, Dan is dead!"

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed and please leave a review :)**


	4. Chapter 4 - Interlude - The Truth

**Disclaimer - I do not own Bakugan**

**I still have not come up with at better summary yet either :(**

* * *

_(Recap)_

"Ren, stop! He's gone, Dan is dead"

_(End Recap)_

Ren watched as Marucho calmed himself, and Shun looked as though he was barely holding his own tongue from snapping

"But what if he's not" he said to them, that seemed to get their attention. Until Shun shook his head

"Dan and his parents died in a car crash months ago" he firmly told the Gundalian, refusing to accept anything else

Ren quizzingly looked at him, a little bit surprised considering that this was a topic that none of the original brawlers liked to speak about

**Maybe we should tell him, he's our friend we can trust him **thought Marucho

Once he steeled himself, he started to explain

"You're aware of the events that took place from New Vestroia correct?" Ren nodded, having learned about them from Julie. Marucho continued "After we came back, we had a, uh…a falling out. Alice being the only one who wasn't present at the time, we sort of pushed Dan away"

Shun couldn't contain his scoff

"Pushed him! That a mild way of putting it" he said under his breath that the two had to strain to hear him

Marucho internally winced, out of everyone it was Shun who took this the hardest

"We spent weeks searching for him, it wasn't until we came to Bayview that we found out about the crash, let alone that his family had moved"

Ren quietly listened to their _'version'_ of the story. "How did he die exactly?" he questioned with a blank face. In hindsight it probably wasn't the best thing to say, but he wanted to gather as much information as possible

Shun stay quiet through the whole story, leaning back on his chair, arms crossed, and eyes closed. He recalled what they were told by the adults

"Dan and his family were on a drive, and an oil truck had skid on the road and collided with them" he spoke flatly

"…the oil truck caught fire…it exploded. There was nothing left" Marucho finished

"If there were no bodies, then how do you _know_ that he died?" challenged Ren

Shun's eyes snapped open

"Didn't you hear us? There was nothing left. No one could have survived that" he hissed

"He is alive though, I've seen him with my own eyes" Ren quickly tapped on his bakumeter, images started to show up on the main computer

…What?

Marucho gasped as he and Shun started at what they were seeing

They were multiple images of Dan. Some looked as though he were in a battle wearing a white suit of armour, other were taken from a distance he always with what looked to be guards.

However, what disturbed the two brawlers was another set of images.

Dan's unconscious from restrained on a bench of some kind, his body bloody and bruised. Another of him in a jail cell by the looks of it, he looked exhausted with blood shot eyes. His clothes were torn and Shun could just barely see what looked to be bruises on Dan's neck.

Marucho was worried about the sickly pallor to Dan's skin, his clothes were very baggy on him as well like he hadn't eaten in days. Marucho felt sick to his stomach.

It was not a pretty sight

Ren had to pity them, even though he had already seen these images, still didn't like seeing them. he didn't know Dan as well as they did. So, what was it like? For two people seeing someone who they considered a friend or brother…. someone who they thought was dead…Alive but shattered

It took a bit before someone spoke up

"What about Drago?"

Two heads turned to Shun, the normally cool-headed ninja had to turn away from the monitor, fists clenched tight on his lap. He was barely keeping his rage in

It took Marucho a second before he caught on to what Shun was trying to say

**He's right! Where's Drago? He would have never let anything like this happen to Dan** thought Marucho

**Damn it Shun, you're making this harder as it already is **Ren thought that just seeing their friend would sway them more onto the Gundalian's side. It's a good thing that he had a backup just in case, he pulled up more images on the screen

This time they showed the said Pyrus bakugan in ball form, he was kept in a cage. Another image showed him fighting against other bakugan.

"Him and Dan are…How do you humans say it? In the same boat? Basically, both Dan and Drago are being forced to fight for the Neathians" he told them

Marucho shook his head "It doesn't make any sense" he said

"Dan loves bakugan! He wouldn't use them for war, and Drago is the same he would side for anyone who uses bakugan"

"That may be true Marucho, but what if they can't control what they're doing"

That got Ren some quizzical looks from the other two

"The Neathians are known to use unscrupulous methods of persuasion. Such as…. hypnosis. he told them slowly allowing them to absorb the meaning behind the words, and come to a realisation

"You mean they brainwashed him" Shun spat

Marucho couldn't help the shiver that went down his spine as heard the tone in Shun's voice. He couldn't tell if it was fierce or malicious…. maybe both

He made a quick glance at Shun, his face as calm looking as it normally would be

**It's a good thing that I'm not one of those Neathians right now. May the core help those whoever gets in the way of Shun**

If Ren saw Marucho move his chair away from Shun, then he took no notice of it

"To put it bluntly then yes. The Neathians brainwashed your friends, but its not just him. There are other kids who have been put under their control as well" confirmed the Gundalian

**This is our fault. If we had never had that stupid fight then Dan would be here, by our side** Marucho thought morosely

"We need to get him back" he said determinedly

"It won't be easy. From what I've heard, the longer you're under their spell that harder it becomes to break it." Ren told him

"Doesn't matter. We'll do what ever it takes to bring him back" Shun shot back it him, Marucho nodding his agreement. They both had looks of fierce determination

**Hold on just a little longer Dan. I'm coming for you**

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed, and please leave a review :)**


	5. Chapter 5 - The Visitor Part 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bakugan**

* * *

"So, this is where the humans come to battle. Bakugan Interspace"

A blue haired girl spoke as she overlooked her surroundings

"I wonder where I can find them"

* * *

"Sid Arkale, Lena Isis. They were really strong battlers" exclaimed Marucho as he looked over their player profiles.

Him, Ren and Shun were sitting over the computer monitor in the control room of Bakugan Interspace.

"So then!"

Marucho turned to Shun, his face reading confusion at the statement

"Well, have you got any other information on other Neathian moles Ren?" he questioned Ren who had started smirking

"Oh yes. I've put together a dossier" Ren got up from his chair to pull up more profiles

"Zenet Surrow, Jesse Glenn, and Mason Brown"

He then looked to the two humans with a serious expression

"These are the three latest Neathian agents that I found"

The door to the room suddenly opened, with Jake coming through it. He was rubbing his back, his face wincing a bit as he walked.

"Where have you been Jake? And what happened to you?" asked a concerned Marucho

"Sorry I'm late guys" he apologised firstly, "I was helping my mom with some errands and lost track of the time" he explained as he sat down

"And on the way here I ran into this girl – hey don't give me that look! It was strange"

_**(Flash Back)**_

_Welcome to Bakugan Interspace _

"Finally, I'm here" Jake exclaimed as he started running through the halls and into the main area

Running at full speed as he turned a corner, he didn't see a bluenette green eyed girl until it was too late

"Whaaa!" – THUD!

Next thing he knew, he was lying on his back, in pain

He sat up quickly and turned around to face his attacker

"Hey what's the big deal?" he shouted at her

The bluenette quickly apologised

"I am so sorry! My reflexes just kicked in there" and she held out her hand to help him up, to which he accepted

"Ah, don't worry about it. Hey you alright? You look a little bit lost back there, anything I can help with?" Jake asked

The girl looked thoughtful for a second before replying

"Actually, maybe you could. Do you hang out here a lot?" to Jake's nod she continued

"I was wondering if you could tell me who the strongest battler in here is"

"Oh! Sure, that would be Shun" Jake pointed over to the ranking board to show her

"Shun Kazami! So that's him" Fabia turned around to see that Jake was standing in front of a gold portal

"Yep sure is. Well I better run" he said as he started entering the portal

"Wait ple-!"

He never heard the rest of what she was going to say as the gate closed behind him

**_(End Flashback)_**

"I wonder what she could have wanted with Shun" commented Ren

"She might have been a new brawler, or she could have been one of Shun's crazy fan girls that like to stalk him" Marucho brushed it off "It's not the first time they've tried to sneak in here to get to him"

…..

No one dared to make a comment over that

Quickly wanting to change the subject, Shun stood up and looked to Ren

"Ren can I ask you something" he asked

"Sure of course"

Shun continued "So how have you been tracking down these Neathian agents?"

"It was quite easily actually. The agents from Neathia have devised a way to travel from their world to Bakugan Interspace, by using their bakugan's power. They don't need to rely on access points like we do"

Jake frowned "Well that's awfully convenient"

"Basically, we have records of their battles, but no records of their arrival and departure through the access points. I just need to cross reference those two lists"

Marucho frowned

"But the number of people on those lists will easily be in the millions. Cross referencing all of that data, that should have taken at least a week"

Ren couldn't help but smirk with pride "Guess I got lucky" he said "I found all three in just one day"

_Beep beep, beep beep _

Everyone looked around for where that noise could be coming from.

Marucho blinked when three sets of eyes turned to him, his face went red with embarrassment when he realised it was his bakumeter going off. Turning around so his back was to the other guys, he checked to see that he received a voice message from Kato

"_Master Marucho apologies for interrupting your meeting, but I have been asked by your parents to remind you to remember to eat your lunch, considering that both you and master Ren were in a rush this morning and had skipped breakfast. Have a good day sir"_

It was Ren's turn to go red at the mention of his name, looking over he can see Jake trying not to laugh. Shun had his head facing down so he couldn't see his face, but he was pretty sure the ninja was smirking

Marucho typed a thank you to the butler before turning to face everyone again

"A-ah why don't we take a quick lunch break" he told them

They all agreed, with Shun and Ren going to the cafeteria to grab something for them all.

**_(15 Minutes Later)_**

"So, Jake what was that girl you mentioned like?" asked Marucho before taking a sip of his drink

"She must have been some kind of kung fu master or something, she just picked me up and threw me like a ragdoll. You wouldn't think it just by looking at her, she was a tiny bluenette with big green eyes"

Shun smirked "Sounds like someone has a crush" he said, watching Jake splutter and Marucho trying not to laugh

He noticed that Ren was quiet though, he looked kind of disquieted

"Hey Ren, what's wrong" Shun asked concernedly

Ren looked at him in thought "I'm thinking that this girl could be another Neathian agent"

…Huh!

"But what makes you think that" questioned Marucho

"Neathians are known for their stealthy hand to hand combat skills, and if she's been asking for the strongest battler, the maybe she was sent here to kidnap you and force you to fight for their side, just like Dan and Drago" he explained

All the sudden the alarm went off

There has been an access breach, trespasser on the premises

No one noticed Ren closing the profiles down from the computer. Just as he finished, someone teleported into the room

"Hey, it's you!" exclaimed Jake in surprise

"She must have followed you" said Shun

The girl raised her hands up as a sign of peace "I'm sorry" she said

"I know that I'm trespassing but it's an emergency, so I hacked into your system to gain entry, it was a risk"

She then looked towards Shun and Marucho "So I take it that you received my message then"

**What message?** Thought Shun

Marucho recovered from his shock of the fact that his system was hacked

"Who are you and what do you want" he demanded

Startled at the less than friendly response she received; the girl had no words to say

"You're from Neathia aren't you" shouted Jake

"So, you did receive it" exclaimed the girl

"Give it up, we're not falling for your tricks" huffed Marucho

Ren walked up to the girl; his back was facing the brawlers so that they couldn't see his face

"Hey, I'm Ren from Gundalia, I don't believe that we've met before" he told her, his expression kept blank. But his eyes conveyed a different story – victory

The girl's eyes widened **Oh No! I'm too late. The Gundalians got here first**

"We never got any message from you, so give it up" stated Marucho

**I finally found them, but who knows what lies they've been told**. Suddenly fierce determination sparked in her eyes

"If you're helping with Gundalia, then you are my enemy!" she declared

"In that case, then we can't let you leave"

"Time for a battle"

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed and please leave a review :)**


	6. Chapter 6 - The Visitor Part 2

**Disclaimer - I do not own Bakugan**

**Please Enjoy!**

* * *

**(Recap)**

"If you're helping with Gundalia, then you are my enemy!" she declared

"In that case, then we can't let you leave"

"Time for a battle"

(**End Recap)**

* * *

Marucho quickly transported all of them to an empty stadium, the brawlers decided that Shun should battle the girl.

"We never did catch your name" he said from across the field

"That's because I didn't give it" she voiced

_The battle between Shun Kazami and Fabia Sheen will now commence_

"From what I heard about you, I had hoped that we would fight alongside each other, not against one another" commented Fabia

The battle started with Fabia making the first move

"Gate card set! Bakugan brawl, bakugan stand – Rise Haos Fangoid

**Wow that bakugans huge** thought Jake

**We've fought tougher opponents than that **Marucho thought with confidence as he watched Shun send out his own bakugan

"Bakugan brawl, bakugan stand – Ventus Hawktor"

Fabia activated her ability card _'Luna Spartan'_. Two swirling discs of light appeared off Fangoid's side, they then started coming towards Hawktor

"Ability activate _'Ninja Defence – Wild Wind Dance'_" Shun's ability card nullified Fabia's attack, which surprised her

Marucho and Jake cheered in the stands

Fabia quickly opened her gate card _'Haos Reactor'_ as well as another ability card _'Goliath Snow'_

This deactivated Hawktor's ability, as well as changing the power levels of the bakugan

"Good move. But not good enough" said Shun

"Ability activate _'Ninja Defence – Spiral Twister'_" this nullified Fabia's ability card and it transferred 400Gs from Fangoid to Hawktor

After Hawktor attacked, Fangoid was defeated and was sent back to Fabia. She looked on in amazement of the skill shown by Shun

**Its my turn now** thought Shun **If I beat her than she can tell me where Dan is.** He threw down his gate card and sent out Hawktor

Fabia's line of thoughts was in a similar direction **Maybe if I can beat him then he'll come over to my side**

"Bakugan brawl, bakugan stand – your turn Haos Merlix. Ability activate _'Jinx Magic'_". The arena went dark that it was hard for people to see, Shun stayed on high alert. A hand came out of the darkness and grabbed Hawktor from behind, and his power levels started dropping. Shun quickly activated his ability card _'Ninja Comet Streamer'_ which nullified the attack

Fabia activated another ability card _'Doom Cube'_. What looked to be a die with element symbols appeared into Merlix's hand, it started to spin

**What on earth is that** thought Shun as he activated his ability _'Ninja Defence – Spiral Twister'_

Everyone apart from Fabia was shocked as the attack was deflected

"As long as that cube is rotating, none of your attacks will work" explained Fabia

"Is she just going to let it spin then" asked Jake who was confused

"Someone will have to happen eventually" replied Ren

"If the opponents attribute matches that of the die, then your power levels will drop to zero" continued Fabia

"What!" exclaimed Shun

"You have a one in six chance, when the die stops turning your fate will be decided"

The die suddenly went still

…Yeah, let's just say fate wasn't on Shun's side today

"It Ventus" said Ren

"My condolences" apologised Fabia, though she didn't sound very sorry

Hawktor's energy started to drain, Shun grit his teeth in frustration as he watched

"Why don't you face it, its game over for you. Its too late for you to counter with an ability" Fabia told him

**Not yet it's not** thought Shun he had a little surprise for her "Gate card open _'Ring Zero'"_

"What! A gate card!" Fabia cried out in shock as she watched

"Ring Zero is a command card that raises all of your opponents activated abilities" Shun explained

**So, this is Shun, I'm Impressed what I heard about him was true. But I am not giving up**. Fabia threw down a new bakugan, just as Haos Merlix was knocked out of the battle

"Haos Aranaut"

The brawlers looked at the new bakugan in surprise

"He's identical to the first digital clone we came across" stated Marucho

"Aranaut, it is now my turn to ask you for your help" pleaded Fabia, she closed her eyes and took a breath. And then opened them again with renewed resolve

"Aranaut, I need you to help me defeat the brawler Shun Kazami. We cannot let the Gundalians win!"

To their further shock the bakugan spoke

"Of course. As you wish princess", he said turning to Fabia

**It makes sense that the Neathians would have real bakugan just like the Gundalians do** thought Shun

Marucho came to a startling grasp

"So, then that's the original Aranaut, from which the digital Aranaut was cloned from. Which means that the other digital clone bakugan such as Akwimos, Coredem and Hawktor are all bakugan from Neathia!"

"You mean our enemies!" both Jake and Marucho looked at Ren for answers

**Well the truth was going to come out sooner or later**, he thought before answering them

"Ah yes. I'm afraid that they are"

**If he knew why he didn't tell us sooner** thought Shun as he looked suspiciously at Ren. However, he couldn't speak out his suspicions due Fabia starting her attack

"Come on, let's go Aranaut"

At Fabia's command Aranaut started to attack Hawktor

**He's fast** thought Marucho, he started to cheer even louder "Hang in there Shun"

It was obvious that Aranaut was stronger at hand to hand combat compared to Hawktor however

Thinking fast Shun came up with an idea

"Hawktor take to the air" that would hopefully buy them a little time

"Running away" "Princess battle gear" "Okay then" Fabia activated her bakumeter to call forth her battle gear _'Battle Crusher'_

"Battle gear boost. Battle gear ability activate - _'Combat Crusher Mode'_"

It was like some sort of cannon or gun had attached itself onto Aranaut

"Lock on target! Engage!" Aranaut shouted as he fired at Hawktor

Quickly Shun activated an ability card _'Ninja Defence – Spiral Twister'_ transferring Gs from Aranaut to Hawktor and nullifying his ability. This gave Shun time to activate his own battle gear _'Swaythor'_

"Battle gear ability activate _'Swaythor Gekkou'_" this transferred more power levels away from Aranaut and towards Hawktor

**Oh No!** Aranaut thought as he was hit and sent back into ball form

"I can't believe I lost, even though I was battling with Aranaut" exclaimed Fabia

_Battle over! Winner Shun Kazami _shouted the announcement

Fabia kneeled to pick up Aranaut **There goes my plan, I really hoped to get the rest of the brawlers on my side. I still can't believe that they're fighting on the side of Gundalia**

Marucho and the others were making their way towards Fabia, Shun had already made his way to her

"Now that that's over, maybe you can start giving me some answers" he said to her

Fabia tilted her head to him, green eyes glinting curious. But before she could reply Marucho cut in front of her

"Now let that be a lesson to you! Bakugan Interspace is for friendly battling, hostile forces like aren't welcome here!" he shouted

Ren interjected before Marucho could unleash more of his anger

"Her bakugan called her princess, right? Maybe she's more than just a Neathian mole, she may have information that could be useful to us" he suggested.

As soon as he said that Fabia started to back away from the group, with wariness in her eyes, unknowing that Jake was right behind her

Seeing the Neathian's unease he tried to calm her "Hey hold on a minute, we just wan—Whaaa!"

Putting his hand on her shoulder was a bad move, because he found himself lying on his back groaning in pain for the second time that day **Uhg…Why me?**

Fabia backed up even more from them

"You don't know anything at all do you!" she glared

"I thought that you were Dan's friends, after everything he told me about you, I thought you could help up. But I guess I was wrong"

Shun and Marucho startled as she spoke about their friend

"So, the Neathians really do have Dan" whispered Marucho

"Where is he" questioned Shun, determination in his gaze as he looked at Fabia

Fabia nervously bit her lip **Me and my big mouth** she thought

Before Shun could advance on her, another portal opened behind her. This portal was different though

"What now?!" groaned Jake

A faint nagging tugged at Marucho's memory **Where have I seen this before...That's it!**

There was a figure coming out of the portal, as soon as they were out their hand grabbed onto Fabia's arm

"DAN!"

* * *

**I hope that you enjoyed, and please leave a review :)**


	7. Chapter 7 - The Visitor Part 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bakugan**

**Please Enjoy!**

* * *

Upon seeing his missing friend, now suddenly standing right in front of him, Shun couldn't describe what he was feeling right now

Instead he took his friends appearance in instead. He was better looking than the pictures that Ren had shown Marucho and him. He wasn't bruised or bloody looking, but…. he wasn't healthy looking either

Dan's skin was pale, enough to look like a ghost, and judging from the bags under his eyes he was downright exhausted. He was wearing dark jeans and a zipped up red jacket, the sleeves being pushed up just below his elbows. What concerned Shun was that Dan's forearms were wrapped in white bandages, they looked fresh like they've just been put on.

"DANIEL!"

The shout from the other side of the portal brought everyone out of their stupor

"That sounded like Drago" whispered Marucho, still shocked at the sight of his friend

Fabia winced as she looked at Dan's face. His lips pressed together in a hard line, she could she betrayal and hurt in his eyes.

She steeled herself, "I'm sorry, but I had to try" she said willing for him to understand

With a blank expression he looked at her. He closed his eyes and sighed before giving her a half-smile, to which Fabia returned knowing that she was forgiven

"Dan?"

Upon hearing his name, Dan stiffened, and his breath held. Slowly he turned his head towards the familiar voice, to find his old friends staring at him. He hurriedly diverted his gaze to the floor, chewing at his lower lip nervously.

"Where have you been Dan" questioned Marucho "What happened to you?" he asked talking about his friend's haggard appearance

"DANIEL! GET BACK HERE NOW!"

Dan flinched at the tone of his partner's voice; it was furious. But that wasn't what caused the flinch, there was something else in Drago's voice that only Dan could hear

Fabia sensing that their _'situation'_ was about to go south, hurriedly grabbed Dan's hand and made a dash towards the open portal, bringing him with her.

Shun hurriedly went after them, out of the corner of his eye he saw Jake grab Marucho as he tried to do the same. Ren was shouting for him to stop

"Dan! Wait!"

His hand reaching out to grab the Pyrus brawler, almost brushing it

The Portal closed

* * *

Marucho's shoulders sagged as he buried his head in his hands

"We saw him, he was right there! Right in front of us, we nearly had him back" he cried

Outside of Bakugan Interspace, sitting on the steps next to him, Shun said nothing but he inclined his head in his friends to show that he was listening.

**If I had just reacted quicker, I could have stopped him…. Damn it**

Jake and Ren had left hours ago, knowing that the two needed to get their space for the time being

Shun leant back putting his arms behind him to support his weight as looked up at the evening sunset, he let out a huff "At least we know he's alive"

Marucho gave him a mirthless laugh, still thinking back to the day's events. Looking back…he frowned, something bothered him

"Hey, did you notice the way Dan reacted when he heard Drago. that was strange, and the way that Drago sounded, he was furious"

Shun had to agree, that was unusual. Although they've had their disagreements, the relationship between the two has always been close, they were like brothers.

"I wonder if the Neathians could be using Drago to get to Dan" wondered Marucho

"It's possible" replied Shun thinking the theory over

Marucho gave a large sigh before standing up, he turned to look at Shun

"I think we need to think this over more. Today's been a long day, why don't we go home and get some rest" he suggested

Shun agreed, even he felt washed out from the day, and with that the two went their separate ways

They never noticed they set of eyes watching them from afar

* * *

**Hope you have enjoyed and please leave a review :)**

**Have a merry Christmas!**


	8. Chapter 8 - Apologies and Frozen Yogurt

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bakugan**

**Please Enjoy!**

* * *

…

…..

Fabia fidgeted on the swing set, glancing at the human next to her sitting on the other swing, eyes shut and his expression unreadable. The silence was awkward between them

After the previous days' events, the two had snuck out of the palace for some downtime. What was puzzling was that it was Drago who suggested coming to earth, considering the tongue-lashing he gave Dan yesterday

…Dan hasn't said much after that

So here they were. In an abandoned play park, sitting in awkward silence

…Fabia couldn't take it anymore. Throwing her hands in the air, the Neathian screamed

"Argh! I can't take it anymore! I know that what I did was wrong, I _know_ that I should have gone to you first. I am sorry that I went behind your back, I _really_ am!"

Panting for breath, she bowed her head as she slumped in her seat

"At least say something" she whispered in defeat

Dan tried to keep his best poker face on as he watched his companion's breakdown. But he couldn't stop the corners of his mouth quirking upwards, eyes opening as looked at her, they were glinting in amusement. It was kind of fun, watching the princess squirm

He kicked his feet a bit to get the swing moving, shaking his head slightly.

"I told you already, its fine. There's no need to worry over it" he said

Watching her lift her head to look back at him, he gave the princess a wink and a grin

Looking in his eyes, Fabia could see that what he was saying was true, and that he held no bitterness towards her. The Neathian let out a sigh of relief and relaxed, she felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

Dan's smile faded though as he looked over to see their bakugan speaking on the park bench. Aranaut and Drago had given their partners some space to sort things out, enough to keep their discussions private, but so that they were still in sight of each other. Dan took a deep breath before exhaling it

"But you were right" he admitted, causing Fabia to jerk her head to him in surprise

The boy sighed "We should have gone to them straight away, if we did, they could have been helping us" thinking about that last part, Dan quickly shook his head "On second thought, helping you. They probably still hate me, but a least they wouldn't be working with the Gundalians"

Fabia stayed silent listening to him. She still didn't know what happened between Dan and his friends, but she learnt the first time around when asking Drago…. Yeah it wasn't going to happen again. It was strange though, back on Neathia every time they discussed this topic Dan was adamant about not getting his former friends involved. So, what changed?

She looked to see that he was staring at Drago, narrowing her eyes in suspicion she turned back to him "Drago really chewed you up didn't he" she stated

Her suspicions were correct when Dan started to fiddle with the bandages on his arm, his eyes finding the ground underneath him very interesting

Fabia quickly leaned over to smack his hand away before he caused the bandages to loosen. Earning an indignant huff from the human

"YES! Yes, he did. I said I was sorry and he's still giving me the silent treatment" huffed Dan as he jammed his hands in to the pockets of his jacket

At hearing the raised volume in voices, the two bakugan looked over to their partners. Checking to see if they were aright

Dan just ducked his head down in embarrassment, whilst Fabia gave an apologetic grin and a dismissive wave of her hand. Satisfied that nothing was wrong the bakugan went back to their discussion

The princess turned back to Dan, here eyes boring into him "He sounded pretty worried back there"

He cringed; face contorted with guilt "It's not like I did it on purpose" he said. "I was just worried about you. I didn't mean to give him a heart attack" he voiced regretfully

Fabia clasped her hands together as she gave him a smile "Aww, that's so nice of you to worry about me" the bluenette said sweetly

Before punching him on the shoulder "But I can take care of myself" telling him in mock anger

Dan chuckled whilst he rubbed his shoulder "Can't blame a guy for trying"

A sudden thought came into Fabia's head, she blinked and tilted her head

"How did you know where I was anyway?" she asked

"The only one who knew where I was going was…" she trailed off, eyes narrowing and balling her fists she growled "I am going to murder him!"

Dan laughed "You'll have to get in line. I saw Elright heading on a warpath towards our room, after that prank he pulled on the castle knights"

Her anger subsided she snorted "It was pretty funny"

Thinking about it, the two of them tried to hold back their giggles, when that was failing, they started cackling

At the movement Dan winced, putting an arm against his side

Fabia had noticed the movement but made no comment of it, knowing that the human would just brush aside her concern

Instead she jumped up to her feet and pivoted around to face the Pyrus brawler, her white coat swishing behind her

"You were telling me about this…. frozen yogurt? Why don't we try some while we're here!"

Excitement swelled up in Dan at the thought of having the cold desert. Having not had human food in such a long time, he hurriedly agreed

Rising from his seat, the two brawlers made their way over to their bakugan

* * *

Drago sighed, seeing that Dan was still not looking at him

"Have you two still not spoken to one another yet" questioned Aranaut, once Fabia had signalled that everything was fine

"You cannot ignore your partner forever Drago" he told the Pyrus bakugan

Drago relented "Maybe I was too harsh on him. But after spending yesterday morning in the infirmary and seeing him just up and run through that portal. I just snapped" explained the dragonoid

**What if he had gotten into more trouble, he could have increased his injuries, or worse…...**

As if sensing where Drago's thoughts were taking him Aranaut quickly interrupted by changing the subject

"I had thought that you were aware of what he was doing when you opened the portal"

Too deep in thought Drago was silent

"…I never opened the portal" he confessed

"…"

"….."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT WASN'T YOU?!"

Drago quickly hushed the alarmed bakugan, before looking over to make sure that they were not overheard by their partners. Thankfully they were still talking to each other

He turned back to Aranaut "Now do you see why I reacted the way that I did, I don't know where that portal came from. It could have been a trap for all we know, and Dan just went right through it"

Aranaut nodded his agreement "True, but if you didn't open it then who did? We need to let Fabia and the castle knights aware of this"

Drago nodded as well. Looking back towards his partner to see him laughing with Fabia

It was good to see his young friend enjoying himself for a change. So much has happened since their return from New Vestroia, much has changed…... not for the better, however.

Drago was becoming increasingly concerned for his friend's wellbeing. He has been noticing lately that Dan is becoming less like his usual self as the day's passed by.

With Drago deep in thought, it was Aranaut who noticed that their partners were coming up to them

Nudging the other bakugan back to reality, he gave him one last piece of advice

"Talk to him. If you two do not speak to each other soon, you may end up regretting"

With that said Aranaut went into full ball form making a roll jump into Fabia's outstretched palm

Drago sighed knowing that the Haos bakugan was right

Just as he went into full ball form getting ready to jump, he was stopped

"Umm, Drago?"

Upon hearing a tentative note in his partners voice, he took in the sight of Dan shifting his weight from one foot to the other, as well as biting his lower lip. It pained Drago to see his young friend was nervous of him

"What is it Daniel?" internally wincing once he said Dan's full name, **For core's sake he'll think I'm still mad at him**

Brown orbs briefly flickered with hurt, Dan steeled his resolve. With newfound confidence he spoke

"I wanted to apologise; I shouldn't have run off like that" taking a deep breath he continued "I am really sorry for scaring you Drago" Dan bowed his head

"I am sorry too Dan. I had overreacted, I didn't mean to be so harsh with you. I was just…..._afraid_"

Dan's eyes lit up with hope as he looked at the Pyrus bakugan

"Still friends?"

Drago quickly rolled into a ball and did a roll jump onto Dan's shoulder, making sure to bump his friend's neck. He will deny doing a slight nuzzle if anyone dared asked, and if Dan noticed then he said nothing. This was a private moment between partners

"Always" said the dragonoid as he unravelled from ball form

Fabia beamed as she watched the heartfelt moment from a distance. She didn't want this moment to be ruined… but that frozen yogurt was waiting for her

She skipped over to Dan, linking her arm with his. Him and Drago looked at her with confused looks, as her face lit up like a kid on Christmas day

"Frozen yogurt?" was all she said

Dan couldn't help but laugh as Drago and Aranaut looked at them and each other in bewilderment

Things were starting to look up a bit today

* * *

**Hope that you have enjoyed and please leave a review :)**

**Have a merry Christmas!**


	9. Chapter 9 - Confessions of a Chat Room

**I do not own Bakugan, please enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

"Here's your caramel latte and one slice of cherry bake"

Julie plastered her best customer service smile on her face as she handed over the customer's order. Once they were gone, she clasped her hands behind her back and stretched her muscles

"That's the lunch rush over Julie, you can go and take your lunch break now" told her boss

Julie thanked her and grabbed her lunch, heading out towards the outdoor picnic tables. It was a nice warm day after all

Resting her chin on her palm, her feet hooked around the legs of the chair she was sitting on. Julie watched as the crowd went by, it was nice sitting back and just people watching

As she watched. Her body stiffened and her breath held

**No way!**

The girl squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again… She wilted, sadness clouding her features

"It must have been someone else. Yeah, that's what it was. Someone who just looked like him that's all" she whispered

**I wish Gorem was here, he always knew what to say to cheer me up** thought the silver haired girl

Unfortunately, the original guardian bakugan decided to go back to New Vestroia for a little while, and they were not due back for another month at the least

She sighed as she picked up her sandwich, too upset to eat however

"What's up Julie?"

The silverette inclined her head to the side, to find Jake standing next to her table

"Oh! Hi, Jake, I never saw you there. How are you?"

Jake leaned against the table as he spoke to her "That alright, I just got back from a practice match with Marucho, he's been helping me train to be one of the brawlers"

Julie smiled at that, knowing that Jake would make a good brawler. All he needed was more confidence.

Jake then frowned and looked at her worried

"But what about you? You looked upset, penny for your thoughts?" he offered

Julie exhaled her breath "Yeah, I'm just a little bummed right now" she said

Jake's eyes softened at her words, he gave her a soft half-smile

He looked back out to the crowd "I guess Shun or Marucho told you about Dan then, yeah that would bum me out too"

He never notice Julie's eyes widen, or the tensing of her shoulders. Question marks surrounding her, as she listened to his words

"I mean it must be pretty shocking. Finding out that your friend is being held captive by hostile race on another worl—Ah, Julie?"

The girl jumped to her feet knocking back her chair. Her hands slammed on the table in front of her, startling the people around them

Jake cowered as he took a step back from her, he could see a vein about to pop out of her forehead

Expression furious, she yelled

"WHAT!"

* * *

Peace and quiet, only the sounds of the birds, the wind and rustling of trees could be hear

Taking in a long deep breath, Shun relaxed into his meditating. For the first time in days, he felt at peace, he was in his element

_ring – ring, ring – ring_

he took in another deep breath

_ring – ring, ring – ring_

…Shun was just going to ignore it

_Ring – ring, ring – ring, ring – ring_

He let out a harsh breath as he uncrossed his legs to rise off the bedroom floor

Stalking over to the computer to find the cause of the insufferable noise. It was the brawlers video chat

"This better be worth it" he grumbled as he answered the call

It wasn't worth it, as he was staring into the furious face of a certain light blue haired Haos brawler

"How dare you keep it a secret from us!" screeched Runo

Shun kept a cool face as he glanced at Marucho's window. The short Aquos brawler looked apologetic, having already been on the receiving end of her anger

"Jake ran into Julie on his way back from our practice match. He let it slip about Dan" he explained

**Of course, he did** Shun sighed, he had noticed that Alice and Julie were also logged onto the chat. They had yet to say anything, but both wore looks of displeasure

"We only just found out ourselves" he said

Alice's face lit up "So it is true then, Dan is still alive, and Drago is with him as well"

"So why are we just standing around! We need to go get him, and away from those alien creeps" shouted Julie, with her arms gesturing wildly

She '_eeped_' when Shun's eyes bored into hers "And how are you going to do that without any bakugan" he said, coming out as a statement more than as a question

The silverette cringed at his words, then pouted as she knew that he was right

Runo on the hand, being the as stubborn she is, refused to back down. Glowering through the webcam, she shouted at Shun

"So, what! That shouldn't stop us from saving him. Or are you that cold-hearted that you just don't care about him!"

Marucho and Julie gasped whilst Alice said her name in shock at what she called Shun

Runo's mind was fogged with anger, she ignored the dangerous narrowing of Shun's eyes as she snarled at him

"Just admit it. You don't care about Dan whatsoever, I bet your glad he's gone because that means that you're the number one brawler again. That's all you ever cared about, brawling"

Shun had heard enough, hostility ran through him. His voice harsh and cold as he belittled the raging Haos brawler

"And what about yourself Runo. Were you not supposed to be his girlfriend, if you were then why didn't you stop him? Oh, or were you too busy making out with another guy from his school"

Runo's eyes widened and the colour in her face drained away. Every word that Shun said had felt like a stab to the heart, he was merciless. Marucho and Julie could only watch in panic at the exchange, Alice had squeezed her eyes shut

"Every time he tried to make a date with you, _you_ would stand him up. He kept giving you so many chances, and _you_ kept breaking _his_ heart. _Every_. _Single_. _Time_! Even on _that_ day it was you who told him to just dissa-!" "ENOUGH!"

Shun's venom melted away at once, and everyone looked at their, normally placid, red headed friend in astonishment.

Alice was trembling with anger, her eyes blazing at them with disappointment

"Both of you that is enough! Shun you went too far this time! And Runo, be reasonable, you cannot just up and leave whenever you want. Think about it, you don't have Tigrerra to protect you, and what about your family and their restaurant. You cannot just up and leave them"

Both Shun and Runo turned their head away, shame running through their veins

"This fighting has to stop. What ever happened with Dan in the past, _all of you_ played a part in that, and it's too late to change that now. What's done is done! You can fix it later, _after_ we get Dan back"

Seeing that her words did not fall onto deaf ears, Alice took a deep breath herself. Her anger at her friends subsiding. Her voice, clear as day, continued

"Marucho and Shun are our best hope, because they are the only ones who have bakugan right now. They are better suited to protect themselves against these…. ah…Neathians? And if they are targeting Bakugan Interspace then they would have a better chance to come across Dan, and help him"

Runo deflated at the truth in her Russian friend's words, her eyes became glossy as she held back her tears

"You're right Alice" turning back to her computer, looking at Shun

"I'm sorry Shun, it was wrong of me to say those words to you" she apologised, her words full of remorse

Shun's own hostility faded away, his features softened slightly towards the bluenette. "Don't worry about it. I'm sorry too Runo, what I said was out of line I let my anger get the best of me there"

In the background Marucho, Alice and Julie smiled as they watched the touching exchange. No one liked to see their friends fight.

Marucho sighed, then he gave a bitter laugh. "We really screwed up huh"

"Yeah…." agreed Julie

Shun lowered his head, saying nothing. But was true they had screwed up big time

Alice looked at all of them with pity in her eyes. She wasn't there during the fight; she had only learned of it when they had started to search for Dan's whereabouts

To say that she was upset was an understatement, she was livid. She gave them all a good chewing out and refused to speak to anyone for days. Despite the sadness that she felt, she forced a smile on to her face

"We'll get him back; I know we will" she told them

Runo looked to her friend, her lips pressed together, eyes flickering with unease

"But Alice…what if he doesn't want to come back" she asked, her voice trembling with uncertainty

Alice's smile slipped off her face at that thought, eyes showed her worry

What if Dan didn't want to come back? After the way he was treated by them, it wouldn't be surprising

Shun looked up then, his expression determined

"Then we'll just have to convince him to want to come back"

Marucho looked at him curiously and asked

"But Shun, even if he did come back where's he going to go? He's technically dead remember"

"Then we will cross that bridge when we get there" the raven head replied, his tone leaving no room for argument

A flicker started to burn inside all of them, a flicker of Hope.

Julie pumper her fist in the air as she cried "Operation: 'Bring Dan Home' is a go"

The rest of the brawlers laughed alongside their Subterra brawler, and then they gradually logged off

Once Shun was sure that he was cut off from the others, he grimaced. Leaning back in his chair, crossing over his arms and legs, he thought hard

How were they going to get Dan back? And better how were they going to find him first?

**(Flashback)**

"I thought that you were Dan's friends, after everything he told me about you, I thought that you would help us. But I guess I was wrong"

**(End Flashback)**

Shun's eyes widened at little bit, after the memory popped into his head

That girl, Fabia, maybe she's the key to finding Dan…. come to think of it. Shun narrowed his eyes in suspicion, he wasn't entirely sure how mind control works, but Dan didn't seem like he was under any of it. When he came for Fabia, he looked worried for her, and the way she spoke of him too….** Ren, why was he so eager to capture her but not any of the other Neathians? And why did he never mention the digital clones being from Neathia? Something isn't right…...**

Questions were swirling in Shun's mind, unease drifting into his stomach. He needed answers, there was a lot more to the whole war than what they've been told

And he knew where to get them from

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed, and please leave a review **


	10. Chapter 10 - Interlude - The Other Truth

**I do not own Bakugan Battle Brawlers**

* * *

"What shall we do now princess?" asked Aranaut

Fabia had snuck back in to Bakugan Interspace, but this time she was staying towards the back passages in order to stay out of sight of the brawlers. For the time being at least

Fabia sighed as she leaned against the nearby wall "I don't know Aranaut. We can't go back to Neathia empty handed"

"Perhaps we should have taken Daniel's offer of assistance earlier" suggested Aranaut, thinking back to the other day

After Dan had treated them to frozen yogurt, he asked if Fabia was coming back to Neathia, to which she told him no. He then asked if she want him to stay with her and help

Drago then reminded Dan that captain Elright had wanted their assistance with something, and that it had sounded urgent

So, Fabia had seen him off, assuring him when he looked back at conflicted, that she would be fine on her own

Back to the present, she shook her head to the bakugan "No, it must have been pretty important for Elright to speak to them. We need to do this on our own" her voice sounding clipped

Thinking about what to do next, her thoughts kept drifting back to the brawlers. Her eyes becoming determined as she realised what needed to be done

"I know what we have to do now! We must get Dan's friends to switch to our side, to help us fight this battle Aranaut"

"So, tell me!"

Fabia's heat shot up in surprise, her mouth open as she jumped away from the wall she was leaning on and whirled around towards the speaker

"What the?!" **Where did he come from?** Both her and Aranaut thought as they came face to face with Shun

"So, it's you" her voice laced with distrust, she was weary in case it was a trap.

Shun kept a good distance between them, however he showed no signs of hostility towards her. His voice was calm and unwavering as he spoke to her

"I'd like… to hear your side of the story"

…

Huh?

* * *

"Oh man I was so close to winning. I had you on the ropes, but I blew it" yelled Jake as he was kneeling on the ground, he pounded his frustrations out on the stadium floor "This stinks!"

"Take it easy Jake"

The frustrated brawler to be looked up to Marucho, who only smiled in amusement at his antics

"You were doing really well, that intensity that you show on the football field, I can see you bringing it into the battle arena in a big way" the Aquos brawler watched the excitement showing on Jake's face as he was praised

"You still have a lot to learn, but you show great promise. And I think that one day you'll make a great addition to the bakugan battle brawlers"

Jake shot up in an instant, disbelief in his eyes as he heard what Marucho was saying. He pointing to himself in questioning

When Marucho nodded he started to dance in joy. Marucho giggled at his friend, until he saw the terror starting to shadow the footballer's face

"Wait! Wait a minute. You said one day I maybe, so does that mean that I'm not one yet?" panicked Jake

Marucho watched Jake's pacing as he continued to ramble, he tried to speak in order to calm him down. But Jake was too anxious to listen. Marucho stepped back in surprise, hands in the air, as Jake suddenly pointed at him

"Don't worry little dude, I'll make you proud! I'll prove that I have what it takes to show that I am worthy the battle brawler title" he exclaimed

Marucho smiled nervously as he replied to that statement "Um…Okay big guy" **Little dude?**

He was never so grateful in his life when Ren started calling him on the bakumeter. Quickly he answered it.

"What's up Ren?" he asked upon seeing the serious look on the Gundalian's face

"Our security systems have detected another breach from another Neathian agent"

"WHAT!"

Him and Jake quickly ran to the location that Ren gave them, to find the enemy agent – Mason Brown

* * *

"RAAAAAR!"

Julie had her head resting on her hands as sat on the bleachers, watching Jake's football practice. **Geez** she thought as the other guy got pummelled by him, from what Marucho told her about Jake's defeat yesterday, she thought that Jake would be crushed. But it was like a blaze has been set alight in him instead, Marucho had sounded really worried about him too. That's why she was here now, she promised him that she would speak to Jake. Although…. It's probably best to take out some of his energy on the field first, or rather his opponents first

_(Some Time Later)_

"hey Julie, what's up?" asked Jake as he walked up to the silverette

Julie smiled at him from her seat, and then got straight to the point

"Marucho said you battled yesterday" she watched as Jake's shoulder's slumped, his voice was gloomy as he spoke

"Yeah it was a disaster. I just wanted to prove myself as a brawler, if I had listened more to Marucho's teachings, It might have ended differently. I just want to be a better brawler, like you, Marucho and Shun. One that would make Dan proud"

Julie cocked her head to the side, eyes blinking in confusion "Dan? What do you want to him proud?" she asked him

Jake looked at her before realising. Looking at her sheepish whilst rubbing the back of his neck he answered her

"Oh yeah I never did tell you. You see Dan is the reason that I wanted to be a bakugan battle brawler"

"Wait! What?" recoiled Julie, almost falling backwards out of her seat, if she didn't catch herself. She looked back at Jake, her expression demanding answers "I thought you never met Dan before, so how is he the reason?"

Jake felt guilty, he was going to tell her sooner, but everything with getting his own bakugan and the alien war, he sort of…forgot

"Well it's kind of a long story, but me and my family used to live way out in the country on my grandfather's farm." "? What has that got to do wi—" "Will you just let me explain!" "Alright, alright, sheesh"

Upon making sure that Julie wouldn't interrupt again he continued "My family lived WAY out, we never had any neighbours or anything, it would take me hours to get to the closest school. After the bakugan came to earth, my dad manage to hook us up to the internet and that was how I discovered bakugan. My first video of them was of Dan battling that large white dragon, ever since I saw that I admired him, he was my hero"

Julie watched as Jake looked up at the sky, lost in his memories, pure awe on his face. He then looked to her; a grin plastered on his face

"This was when you went on holiday, but we had a game against another school, which we won of course" he gave a victory sign as he said that. "After the game, most people had gone home but I stayed to help with the clean-up" Jake took a deep breath before continuing

"On my way home I got jumped by some guys on the other team, they weren't too happy about losing. I was outnumbered, two of them held me down while the other guy pulled the punches" Both Jake and Julie scowled. Jake because he was remembering the incident, and Julie because someone had hurt one of her friends

"All of the sudden, the guy punching me stopped and one of the others holding me let go. I looked to see why, and there he was. Dan was beating them up, I got back to my senses and fought back with him. They then started shouting and the rest of their team came out of nowhere" Jake started chuckling

"Me and Dan started running, we manage to shake them off by hiding In the bushes. As we were catching her breath, he was asking me if I was okay, I told him I was fine. And then he ran off, it wasn't until I got home that I realised that it was him. And then you got back, and that's when the news report told about the car crash" the footballer started to hear sniffling and looked over to the girl next to him, he cringed as he watched the girl's shoulders shake, her head lowered

Julie's vision blurred as she looked at the ground, **That is just so like Dan** she smiled sadly her heart warmed by Jake's story. She brushed her tears away and looked back up to see Jake looking at her, his hand in the air not knowing what to do. She told him that she was fine, and laughed as Jake sighed in relief

"I want to be just like Dan" Jake finally said

"I know what you mean, I used to follow Dan around like a little lost puppy. I wanted to be a battle brawler, and I thought that meant being just like Dan, he was an awesome brawler no question about it" Julie admitted "But…"

Jake looked at her in surprise as she said _'but'_

"His style of brawling wasn't the best way for everyone. His style is wild and impulsive, and that works for him but not for me" She saw that Jake was starting to get intrigued at her words, and when he asked her to go on she jumped to her feet, hands clasped behind her back as she told him

"Every brawler must find their own style"

Jake blinked at her, confusion across his face

"Think of it like this, you use strategy on the football field, success involves following your playbook. You need to adopt a similar approach inside of a battle arena"

She watched as Jake's eyes widened in realisation, she grinned and continued

"Your style needs to involve planning; you should be able to visualise every round of battle"

The cogs in Jake's mind started to spin faster as he was getting what Julie was saying

"Alright, visualise the attack"

He was ready

* * *

"Another agent? And you let Jake battle them"

"You should have seen them Shun; he was really determined to prove himself"

Shun leant against his bedroom door, his eyes curiously watching Fabia's every move as she wandered his living room. He kept the video screen off as he spoke to Marucho, claiming a little lie so his genius friend wouldn't get suspicious

"I take it that it didn't go so well then" he said bluntly. Marucho was silent before speaking, his voice hesitant

"…...Unfortunately, no. Jake didn't take it too well, the tough crowd didn't help either. I've asked Julie to have a word with him"

"If it's Julie, then Jake will be fine. Hey Marucho, I have to go, my grandfather is calling me" Shun said airy

"That's alright, see you when you come back" Marucho replied unconcerned

With that the call ended, Shun started walking towards Fabia, she had stopped to look at some of his pictures on the wall

She must have heard him coming as she turned her head slightly in his direction

"Are these the original battle brawlers then?" she asked pointing to the photo that taken after the defeat of Naga, when the bakugan had to return to New Vestroia

Shun only nodded his head as she looked to him for confirmation. At this she turned back to the picture. Shun watched as the bluenette lifted her hand close to it, hovering a finger over the faces of his friends. Recognition dawned on her face

"The red-haired girl must be Alice; I've already met you and Marucho. These two must be… Runo and… Julie? And this other boy must be Joe"

Shun inclined his head curiously, his mouth twitching slightly. Wondering how she knew their names and faces

"You seem to know more about us then we do about you" he casually remarked

Fabia turned to him, lifting her shoulder in a half shrug. Her expression soft as she gave him a half smile

"I only know what Dan told me, he talks nonstop about all of you and your adventures together" admitted the young Neathian, before she turned back to the photo

Shun watched as the bluenette's forehead creased and her lips turned into a frown

"He looks a lot happier back then…" she whispered softly, not knowing that Shun could hear her

**He probably **_**was**_** happier than, and that's how he should be now **harshly thought Shun, fists clenching briefly at his side. He quickly let out a harsh breath, before going back to his collected façade and looked to Fabia

"Why don't we skip the reminisce and talk about why we're really here. I want to know more about this war from your side, so why don't we start at the beginning. First things first: _Who are you_? All we know is your name but who are you really?" he probed

Fabia was impassive as she listened to him, before drawing a deep breath. "Very well" she monotonously replied before straightening her stance. Shun started to sense the air change around her, gone was the friendly non-threatening feel from before. Instead replaced by what seemed to be dignity

Fabia's eyes bored into him, as she held her head high. Speaking with an assertive tone she spoke

"My name is Fabia Sheen. Princess of Neathia"

* * *

**I hope that you have enjoyed and please leave a review :)**


	11. Chapter 11 - Exposed

**I do not own Bakugan, please enjoy **

* * *

Ren let out a sigh as he finished his work on the computer, just moments before Marucho entered the room. The blonde-haired teen holding two steaming cups of coffee

The Gundalian gave his friend a grateful smile as he accepted one of them. They both went to settle on the steps near by the entrance of the room. They had just finished creating the new battle arena expansion, which they have been up since the crack of dawn programming on

The two friends were quiet as they enjoyed their drinks, sitting in a comfortable silence.

Marucho stared into his mug a smile on his face before he spoke up "I should be thanking you Ren"

The Gundalian startled at the sudden comment, he looked to the blonde with bewilderment

"What, why?" he questioned

Marucho took a sip of his drink before continuing "Well without your help, I would never have developed Bakugan Interspace this far by myself. Every battler in the system owes a debt of thanks to you" Marucho paused to take a breath, Ren kept his expression passive as his friend continued

"Well I hope you realise that, and I don't want you to ever forget it" finished Marucho

The corners of Ren's mouth turned up as warmth spread through him at his friend's words

"I do" he said "And I just want you to know how much I appreciate you on letting in me be a part of all this" the Gundalian gave his friend a wink in cheers

Marucho's eyes lit up in admiration, and he inclined his head a bit before speaking once more

"You know, I had a strange dream last night" "Tell me" "It took place in the future. I saw children here on earth battling inside Bakugan Interspace, battling alongside kids from your homeland Gundalia. Wouldn't that be so awesome Ren, wouldn't it!" Marucho finished in excitement, he closed his eyes happily at the thought of his dream "I just get so excited thinking about it"

Ren's face softened at his friend's expression, **That would be something** he thought

Marucho turned to him, still smiling "It should be a goal that we should strive for"

Ren agreed "Yes, it sounds wonderful" he then glanced up to the ceiling, his expression sobering. He spoke with a hint of regret and guilt in his tone, thinking about why he was on earth in the first place

"Yes…It really does"

Marucho sighed **He must be thinking of his home planet**

"We can't forget the war, until we put an end to that, or the dream will never come true. We have to stop the Neathian's campaign of terror and return peace to Gundalia, as soon as possible"

Ren nodded "You're right as soon as we accomplish that, peace will definitely follow" he said before finishing his drink

_Beep – Beep – Beep_

Marucho and Ren quickly show to their feet at the sound of the alarm

"Is that—" "A Neathian agent, yes!"

* * *

Jake ran into the arena; His brows drew together in confusion as looked around the area

"What the? There's no one here"

"This is where the signal came from"

Jake turned to the sound of Marucho's voice, and watched as he and Ren stepped out of the portal

"Hey Marucho, are you testing the alarm system?" questioned the red head

The spectacled boy shook his head "No Jake, there's been a breach. They must be hiding around here somewhere" he said as his eyes wandered the arena

"Try looking under your nose"

Everyone looked out to the other end of the arena, in the stands was a boy wearing a long green coat and a book in his hand

"An ancient Neathian proverb says foolish is the soldiers who know not the face of the enemy. But all of his weapons will prove uselessly at the weight of ignorance"

The boy closed his book shut with one hand and a ventus bakugan jumped onto his shoulder. This boy had shoulder length sandy brown coloured hair, the tips coloured red. And his eyes were purple colour

The bakugan spoke in a condescending tone towards the brawlers "We've been waiting for you children"

"Your agents from Neathia aren't you!" shouted Jake

The Neathian raised his book in greeting, before jumping from the stands into the main arena. He gave them as slight bow once he regained his footing.

"My name is Jesse Glen"

Jesse held an arm to the brawlers, as he turned his head to his bakugan which floated next to him. "And this is my partner Plitheon" Jesse then waved his extended arm into another bow and said "I believe that's my que"

The brawlers stood there a little bewildered at the strange acting Neathian, Marucho was the first one to break out of his stupor

"Are you kidding me! Listen here, you Neathians are not welcomed here!" he shouted

Jesse smirked at Marucho's statement; this just further infuriated the aquos brawler

"If you want a battle then come and get one"

Ren interrupted to calm his friend "Hey Marucho, hold on a second! You don't know a thing about this guy"

Marucho turned to Ren and flashed him a grin, "Don't worry Ren, I'll be fine"

Jake spoke up to help back up his friend "Yeah I doubt Marucho will even break a sweat" he said with a confident sounding tone

Ren hesitant at first, but eventually relented. **What has gotten into Marucho all the sudden? Don't tell me he put too much sugar in his coffee again this morning**

Jesse watched in amusement at the brawlers' display, taking a deep breath as he opened to a page in his book, his eyes flickering with a hunger

"Can you feel it, the winds of war are blowing" he said to them, bringing their attention to him once more. A wind seemed to pick up around him blowing through his hair and the pages in his hand _**(A.N – Seriously where did that come from?)**_

"Enough Talk! Gate card –" "Wait!"

Marucho nearly fell face flat onto the floor at the interruption

Everyone turned to the voice of the newcomer, to find Fabia standing at the entrance with hand resting on her one hip

"It's you!" exclaimed Jake

Fabia ignored their looks of surprise as her green eyes bored straight into Jesse

"He's lying to you, he isn't from Neathia" she declared as she started walking forward past Marucho "He's an imposter, and now he must pay for his crimes"

Marucho stammered in confusion "Wha – What?"

"Both of us will be fighting in this battle"

"Prepare for the princess' wrath" stated Aranaut as Fabia prepared them into a battle stance

Jesse closed his eyes; he still had his smirk in place from before. His voice sounding playful as he spoke

"Very well, this reminds me of a poem that I read. It was called Requiem for the Fallen Warrior" his eyes flashed open to gaze at Fabia, vicious intent gleaming in them

"And it doesn't have a happy ending" sneered Plitheon

Marucho with his fists clenched to his side, turned to Fabia and gave her a scrutinising glance

"Hold on a minute! What do you think you're doing, and how did you get in here!" he demanded

"Stand back Marucho, this is Fabia's fight"

Everyone looked to the stands, standing there with his arms crossed was Shun, his gaze hardened

"But Shun!" "Dude what are you talking about, where the heck have you been man!"

Shun said nothing as he turned his head to Ren, who had remained impassive throughout the ordeal

* * *

'_The bakugan battle between Fabia Sheen and Jesse Glen will now commence'_

The brawlers stood on the side-lines as they watched the battle start

"I don't understand" spoke a bewildered Marucho "If he's an imposter then where is he from? And why should we believe her anyway?" he questioned

"I don't know dude; I'm so totally confused" commented Jake "Shun what is going on"

"Maybe you should ask your friend over there" Replied the raven haired as he gave Ren a frosty look

Marucho's face contorted with worry "What do you mean?" he asked before looking up to the Gundalian. He didn't understand what was causing his long-time friend to give Ren the cold attitude

Ren kept his gaze on shun, before he inclined his head back and made a half shrug motion with his shoulders. "How would I know" he said with a mellow tone "I have no idea either guys"

_Bakugan field open!_

Fabia made the first move

"Gate card set! Here we go, bakugan brawl bakugan stand —Go Haos Aranaut!"

"I will battle to the end for you princess" yelled Aranaut as he readied himself

"For whom will the bell tow when this is over Madame, I predict it will be you. Bakugan brawl, bakugan stand —Come Ventus Plitheon" shouted Jesse as he sent out his bakugan

Plitheon was a humanoid bird bakugan, he mocked his opponent

"I was ready to stomp on some brawlers, but you two will do just fine"

Aranaut started to attack the ventus bakugan, the brawlers watched in amazement as the two bakugan were matched for speed

Jesse went to pull a card out of his book

"Ability activate — _Life Eater_" " Great, my favourite" commented Plitheon as green beam like bullets shot from his wings and attacked his opponent

Aranaut's power levels decreased from 900 to 600Gs, to top it off, Plitheon gave him a good kick as well

"Come on, get up Aranaut— Ability activate _Vector Fist_" Aranaut's power level increased to 1000Gs as gauntlet weapons materialised on his forearms

Aranaut rushed to attack his opponent, using his new gear to slash at Plitheon

"Aww yeah!" "Hardcore" Jake and Marucho, who were both getting enthralled in watching the battle, cheered Fabia on

Jesse remained stoic as his bakugan went down, his voice nonchalant as he spoke

"We are not ready to draw the final curtain. Not when there is so much drama left to play out" he raised his arm up to access his bakumeter

'_Ready Vilantor Gear'_

"Battle gear boost"

Fans attached to Plitheon's back, and his power level raised from 900Gs to 1000Gs

"Now then, battle gear ability activate – _Vilantor Gear Cyclotron_"

A multitude of laser shots struck from Plitheon's battle gear and struck Aranaut, decreasing his power level from 1000 to 600Gs

Plitheon sneered "That was just a small taste" he said as activated his gear again. This time a cyclone of wind hit Aranaut, sending him up into the air

**Oh no! Aranaut** Fabia quickly activated her gate card – _Haos Saver_

However, her hopes of saving the bakugan were dashed as the gate card just shattered

Fabia's eyes widened in shock as she watched the scene before her, "What the?" she stammered

Jesse watched with an expression of mirth before going to explain "It's no use with the _Vilantor Gear Cyclotron _activated, your gate card is destroyed"

Both Aranaut and Fabia glared at imposter, their jaws clenched in frustration

The boy just gestured his hand to point to them as he sneered "Combat is like a delicate ballet, wouldn't you say"

Plitheon used the opportunity to strike at Aranaut again, this time the attack sent him back into ball form

'_Fabia's life force at twenty percent'_

"Aranaut! No!" shouted Fabia as she watched he bakugan go down

Jesse chucked as he caught Plitheon "Combat can also be brutal" he said

Jake watched in shock "He really turned the battle around there"

Ren glowered as he turned to the red head to snap at him "Why do you even care? They are both are enemies, let them destroy each other"

Jake raised his hands up to placate the Gundalian "Ah – yeah I guess you're right"

Jesse was turning the pages in his book, his eyes never left Fabia's form as he contemplated his next move. Finally, he said "And here we are at the final act" whilst bringing out another card from his book

"Gate card set. I believe this calls for a grand crescendo, don't you? Bakugan brawl. Bakugan stand – Rise again Ventus Plitheon"

Fabia's eye twitched in annoyance, **Does this guy **_**ever**_** shut up **she thought before speaking up

"Your fancy clothes and flowery vocabulary will not disguise the fact that you are a monster" she sent out Aranaut to battle again

"Bakugan brawl, bakugan stand – Stay strong Haos Aranaut"

Aranaut got into a fighting stance as he declared "I will avenge my previous defeat, I swear it"

Plitheon made a '_come get me_' gesture with his hand to the Neathian bakugan as he mocked him "I'm ready when you are weakling"

Aranaut huffed in annoyance, as he shifted repeatedly from one foot to another

"You think you can beat me that easily"

Fabia activated her ability card – _Mirage Up_. This gave Aranaut a power boost, raising his level to 1200Gs

Jesse peeked out from his book, his eyes flickering with admiration towards his opponent. He murmured to himself quietly, only his partner was able to hear him

"I must admit there is a beauty in the way she carries herself on the field of battle, that I admire"

The ventus bakugan felt annoyance flare up in him as he whined to his partner "CAN WE GET ON WITH THIS! PLEASE!" **This is a battle not a love act**

Jesse sighed in shame as he took another card that was hidden in his book

"Ability activate – _Metal Verde_"

Plitheon's horns and appendages extended on his body, his power level increasing to 1200Gs

The brawlers watched as both bakugan charged at one another

"Check it out Plitheon has turned parts of his body into a metal shell and raised his defensive ability" spoke Marucho in awe. **Fabia needs to act quickly, she needs to use her battle gear**

Just as Marucho finished his thoughts, Fabia was doing exactly that and had activated her gear

'_Ready Battle Crusher'_

Fabia's eyes blazed determinedly as she encouraged her bakugan

"Come on Aranaut, win this! Battle gear boost, battle gear ability activate – _Battle Crusher Doom_"

Aranaut quickly locked onto his target, his power level rising to 1800Gs as he attacked Plitheon

Jake winced "Woah that has got to hurt"

"Is he down?" questioned Shun

"I'm not sure" replied Marucho as he watched. The three of them were disappointed to see Plitheon still standing

Aranaut's muscles tensed as he gritted out to Fabia "Our attacks barely fazed him"

Fabia cried out in indignation "I don't understand"

Jesse smiled at his opponent's frustration as he activated his battle gear

"Battle gear ability activate – _Vilantor Cyclotron_"

Plitheon screeched out in malicious glee as he blasted Aranaut "Time for you to disappear"

The Haos bakugan refused to back down however as he braced himself and stood his ground, this gave Fabia time to activate battle crusher doom's effect. Which weakened all the opponent's attack damage by half

Jake beamed as he cheered "Talk about turning the tables, come on Aranaut! You can still win this!"

Marucho turned to the footballer, forehead creased with confusion "But I thought we agreed that we weren't cheering for either one of them" he asked

Shun said nothing as he watched Ren's face flicker with a mixture of emotions, before his expression settled with an eerie grin

**What is he up to?** Shun thought with suspicion

Fabia had regained her composure as she bellowed out to her bakugan

"Ready for the final attack Aranaut"

"Yes" the guardian shouted back to her as he once again locked onto Plitheon

Fabia and Jesse's gazes locked onto each other

"It's game over Jesse" spoke Fabia, with conviction in her voice

Jesse closed his eyes as his mouth quirked up in amusement, before replying to her

"Are you sure"

Fabia stammered with surprise, at the response. She watched as Jesse put a hand to his ear

"Listen carefully Fabia, it is the sound of your own defeat" he sneered at her

Fabia and the brawlers watched in shock as during the moment that Aranaut fired, his foot started to sink into the ground

"What is happening" exclaimed the Haos bakugan as he tried to shake himself free

Plitheon snickered as he dodged Aranaut's attack "Watch your step"

"What the? What is wrong with Aranaut?" shouted Jake

"It looks like there's a bug in the software, that has caused the arena's virtual environment to become unstable" commented Ren

Marucho felt the pit of his stomach drop as he blurted out "But how?"

"I just don't know Marucho, I'll have to run a diagnostic after the battle"

No one noticed Shun's quietness as he glanced at Ren, they all turned their attention back to the battle as they heard the worry in Fabia's voice as she cried out Aranaut's name

Jesse felt drunk with elation as the battle was reaching its climax point, he sent out his next card

"Gate card open – _Gear Barricade_"

Aranaut froze in shock as his battle gear fell apart around him, "What is happening?" he whispered, to which his partner pleaded in response

"I'm sorry Aranaut, I don't know"

Jesse decided to cut them some slack and went to explain the scenario to them

"The command card '_Gear Barricade'_ shuts down the opponent's battle gear, and then it connects to Plitheon's Vilantor gear and activates the level two battle gear ability"

Plitheon soared into the air, as the extra power filled him with more adrenaline. He screeched out "I feel incredible"

Jesse's eyes burned with excitement as yelled out

"This is – _Vilantor Gear Nirvana_!"

Plitheon's power level increased to 1600Gs whereas Aranauts decreased down to 1200Gs

"Open yourself to the power Plitheon, let it flow through you and when you are ready. Release it!"

"Goodbye Aranaut" taunted Plitheon as he unleashed his attack

Fabia yelled out in shock as Aranaut was sent back into his ball form

'_Battle over, winner – Jesse Glen'_

* * *

The brawlers ran down from the stands to Fabia's side. Although her back was to them, they could tell that her loss affected her deeply. She held her head down as her shoulders trembled, the brawlers could hear her quiet sobs

Jake felt his blood boil, **You didn't have to make her cry** he thought with fury as he glared at Jesse who watched with a smile on his face

"You creep! You think your tough, then why don't you battle me next" shouted the red-head

Ren glanced over to the enraged footballer and tried to placate him "Easy Jake, maybe we should quit for today"

The Gundalian received a grumble in response "Why should I"

"Yes Ren, why should he. Is he disrupting your plans"

Everyone looked at Shun in confusion

"What are you talking about Shun, and what do you mean plans?" questioned Marucho

Ren's eyes widened a fraction as Shun went on to explain

"Think about it, that tear in the environment that Aranaut stepped into. What are the odds that something like that happened randomly? Marucho"

As Marucho thought about, it was strange "Ugh…its…not very likely. But…" he trailed off, his mouth quirking to frown

"So then, it wouldn't be unreasonable to think that it was and act of sabotage. Committed by someone, who originally wanted one of us to lose" concluded Shun

Jake gasped in realisation "What! But who would do such a thing"

Shun once more directed his gaze to Ren, his expression hardened, as he spoke his voice held a scathing tone to it

"The person responsible would have to be extremely knowledgeable with the Bakugan Interspace system. Someone who would be an administrator"

Ren calmly looked back at Shun, his lips started to twitch upwards until he started chuckling "That's just crazy" he said as he shifted his weight onto one foot and rested a hand on his side

"Why would I do that?" he questioned the ninja

"Because you are a lying, conniving Gundalian"

Ren looked towards Fabia. The girl had regained her composure and wiped the last of her tears away, bringing her arms to her side she clenched her hands into fists, glaring at Ren she spoke up

"Shun has told me everything, what Ren has said to you about the war between our planets. And it's all a pack of lies" "What!" "I know that he told you that Neathia invaded Gundalia, but the real truth is. Gundalia is the one who invaded" she declared

Shun backed up Fabia's statement "Ren is really the enemy!"

Marucho stared at his raven-haired friend, disbelief in his eyes, his voice shook as he spoke "W-What are you talking about Shun" Marucho turned to Ren "Tell them it isn't true, okay Ren" the volume of his voice lowered as he saw the expression on Ren's face

Ren looked away, not meeting Marucho's gaze, "Of course it isn't true, she's the one whose lying"

Panic welled up in Ren's chest as the looks he was receiving from the brawlers and Fabia, he let out a quick harsh breath

Jesse chuckled at the scene in front of him, **Talk about a plot twist** he thought as Ren's gaze locked onto him

"My, my, my there's more drama on this stage then even I can handle" he teased as made a shrugging motion to Ren

Ren snapped at him, hopping to salvage this mess "Don't try and talk your way out of this Neathian, we will deal with you yet!"

Shun interrupted quickly before Ren could embarrass himself further

"Nice try, but he's a Gundalian just like you Ren, isn't he now. A spy that you planted"

Jake's eyes showed disbelief as he shouted out " I don't believe this"

Jesse gave a shrug "I believe that's my que. I bid you a fond farewell"

Ren gave a sudden gasp in shock and pointed his hand at Jesse and yelled "Don't you _dare_ walk away from me, come back here and fight me Neathian" **Help me out here Jesse!**

Jesse just held his book tighter to his chest as he gave a farewell bow, he spoke in mock sadness "I do apologise but there will be no encore performance today" **Not my fault you can't act, you're on your own Ren. Good Luck!**

And with that display Jesse teleported back to Gundalia

"COWARD!"

* * *

Ren stared in shock/rage at his fellow Gundalian's retreat. **I am going to f*****g kill him**

"Time to give it up Ren"

The Gundalian turned to face the brawlers, his face etched with fury

"I don't have to take this" he told them, before running out of the room, barely hearing Marucho's pleas to wait

Shun stared after him, with a callous tone he said "See, he ran away. What further prove do you need that he's guilty of all that Fabia says he is"

"I don't believe you!"

Shun pinned his gaze onto Marucho, he watched as Marucho's shoulders trembled, conflict clouding his features. His voice held a slight tremble as he spoke

"But Ren's my…."

Jake held a hand out to Marucho, but didn't touch him, trying to console the distraught boy he spoke "But Marucho –"

Marucho whirled towards his friends, his face red as he snarled at them

"Ren is my friend you guys, he would never do anything to hurt us or Bakugan Interspace, you got it! So, knock it off"

Jake and Shun both took a step back from the furious blonde

"Marucho" pleaded Shun, but the aquos player was hearing none of it and cut him off

"You don't know what you're talking about Shun. Ren is a good guy okay. I don't want to hear another bad word about him from anyone"

Marucho turned and ran towards the direction that Ren went in, he ignored his friends' calls as he ran

Fabia held a clenched hand to her heart, guilt welling up inside her.

**Oops!**

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed and please leave a review **


	12. Chapter 12 - True Colours

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bakugan**

**Please Enjoy!**

* * *

_'Confirmed master Marucho was here 15 minutes 47 seconds ago'_

"Bummer, we just missed him"

Shun, Jake and Fabia had entered the meeting room following their search for Marucho after he ran off after Ren

Shun sighed, he knew Marucho wouldn't have taken Ren's betrayal well…but…

Fabia nibbled on her bottom lip, then she spoke her voice was heavy with guilt "I apologise, I feel like this is my fault"

Shun shook his head before going to reassure her "Don't be. It was the truth, he needed to hear it"

Jake looked between the two as he said "I think we all need to hear it, from the beginning this time"

Fabia nodded, and the three of them went to sit at around the table and chairs in the middle of the room

Once everyone was settled Fabia told her story

* * *

_Elsewhere in Bakugan Interspace_

Marucho stood in the middle of the arena, waiting as he watched Ren come out of the portal

"So, you remembered that paging Mr Brown was our secret code for when we needed to meet in an emergency" he said as he gave the Gundalian a smile

After searching everywhere for Ren but being unable to find him. Marucho remembered the emergency protocol they set up together. And he hoped that Ren would remember it too

"I knew you wouldn't forget and that you'd come" he exclaimed

Ren's mouth curved into a smile as he reassured the short blond "I couldn't ignore an emergency call"

Marucho chuckled, but it sounded off as if there was something holding him back. His tone apprehensive as he spoke

"I think we have some unfinished business"

Ren closed his eyes briefly as he gave a slight nod. The smile on his face faltering slightly

"Yeah, I know we do"

'_Bakugan field open!'_

* * *

_Back with the Brawlers_

"On my home planet of Neathia, Neathians and bakugan lived together in peace for generations. But one day, hostile forces from the neighbouring planet of Gundalia invaded our cities using their bakugan"

"So, Ren lied to us about the Neathians being the invaders, damn. I bet he was lying about everything else too" groaned Jake as he leant back in his chair

Shun nodded in confirmation, and then turned to Fabia motioning for her to continue with her story

"Sadly, the Neathian army had no choice but to use their bakugan for…defence. Unfortunately, because we have never battled before, we were no match for the Gundalians, it didn't take long for them to gain the upper hand and force us to our knees"

The Neathian princess had tried to keep her tone as controlled as possible, however she could not keep a bitter tone out of it. The bluenette looked at her hands resting on the table, taking a deep breath to calm herself before looking back to the two boys in front of her

"So, in one final desperate attempt to save our people from enslavement, My sister, Queen Serena of Neathia, ordered me to send an urgent S.O.S message to all the worlds across every dimension"

Jake looked at her with his jaw slack, awe in the voice as he spoke "Woah you're the queen's little sis!"

Giving the red head a withering look, Shun scolded him for interrupting

"That's why she goes by the title '_princess_' Jake. Now focus on the story"

Leaning back in his chair, crossing one leg over the other. Shun thought back to the time when Drago had first defeated the original digital clones that they had encountered, he started to speak up his thoughts to the others

"Back when we received the unknown data, it contained a mysterious melody as well, we didn't know what it had to do with the data at the time. Well it turned out to be princess Fabia's distress signal"

Aranaut who had been sitting by Fabia's hands throughout the explanation nodded. "Yes. We sent it in hopes of finding powerful bakugan and their battlers to help us in our fight. Once you defeated our digital clones a message with crucial battle data was relayed back to us on Neathia"

A look of uncertainty crossed Fabia's face, as she started to fiddle with the strap of her bakumeter. Hesitantly she spoke

"Ah, that's….kind of where…it gets a bit complicated"

The raven-haired ninja narrowed his eyes at her, **What do you mean complicated?** He thought as a bad feeling rose within him, the nervous princess quickly spoke that others barely grasped the last sentence

"The bakugan who defeated the digital clones, being Drago…wasalreadyinGundaliasgrasp"

Shun put a hand to his face, a headache starting to form

**Only you, only you can get yourself captured by hostile aliens Dan**

"Yikes…but how did Dan and Drago end up in Gundalia in the first place?" questioned Jake

Fabia lifted her shoulder in a half shrug as she replied back to him "We don't really know, when I asked them even, they themselves didn't know. Dan just said that one minute they were on earth, the next they were on Gundalia. Truthfully the only reason we found them was during an infiltration mission"

The princess then turned to Shun, her eyes flickered with reservation as she spoke to him, her voice sounding sincere

"The reason I came to ask for your help was for both Neathia and Dan, he couldn't battle the Gundalians by himself it was starting to take its toll on him. But Dan didn't want you to get any of you involved, so… I came here, going behind his back to ask for your help" she gave the ventus brawler a small apologetic bow with her head as she finished speaking to him

He let out a quick sigh, before giving the girl a dismissive wave of his hand "You shouldn't worry about it" he said, his voice empathetic. He then gave a small huff in amusement "Dan has always been like that; he constantly tries to shoulder all of his problems on his own. He tried to leave everyone behind when going to New Vestroia too, he didn't want to involve us, but as you can see it never worked out that way. That's just his way of protecting others" he told her, slightly shaking his head at his best friends' personality

Fabia smiled and laughed in agreement "In the short time that I've known him that certainly seems to be the case"

Getting back to the seriousness at hand Shun frowned "Unfortunately for us, Ren arrived before you did. Before we knew any better, he had us believing his lies and we ended up taking the Gundalians side in the conflict"

Jake huffed in anger "I can't believe Ren had us all fooled, he made total chumps out of us" he said as he buried his head in his hands

"Yes, he was a very convincing liar, even I believed him" bitterly murmured Shun whilst he inwardly seethed with rage directed to the traitor. **He fooled all of us,** **but what is worse is that he Marucho and took advantage of their friendship. No one gets away with using my friends like that**

* * *

_Back to Marucho and Ren's Battle_

"Ability activate – _Heal Blue_!"

Marucho yelled out as the anger of his friend's betrayal rolled through him

"I thought that you and I were supposed to be really good friends Ren"

"Yeah we were! Ability activate – _Bolting Vibra_!"

Marucho clenched his jaw as Akwimos got attacked

"If that's true, then how could you possibly deceive me like that. Tell me!"

Ren grimaced, pushing away the pang of guilt he retorted back to the upset aquos brawler. "It wasn't supposed to happen"

Marucho's body tensed, teeth gritting as he wordlessly activated an ability card

* * *

_Fabia, Jake and Shun_

Jake looked to the door sadly "I hope Marucho is okay, he's been gone a long time. Maybe we should go after him" he suggested

"Wait a minute"

Jake and Fabia looked at Shun in surprise at the apathetic tone in his words. They watched as he stood from his chair to lean over and activate the computer table. He started typing quickly and screenshots popped onto the screen

Jake and Fabia shot up from their chairs and leaned over to look, shock on their features

"Well this could get interesting" commented Fabia

Both Shun and Jake agreed

'_Ren's life force forty percent'_

The two ran into the battle arena, to find the other two still battling. Marucho looked back to them briefly to acknowledge them, before focusing back to the battle

Jake looked at the score board, "Woah they're tied" he murmured

"This next round will decide it for sure" said Shun

The three of them went to the safety of the stands to watch, Marucho seemed to be struggling with the battle

"Ren is battling really hard" observed Shun

Jake raised a fist up in frustration "That dude has no heart. Not only did he betray little Maruch, but he's rubbing his face in it"

Ren looked down as he gritted his teeth. I have to do this; my people are counting on me he thought as he activated his battle gear

"Battle gear boost!"

Marucho remained stoic as he activated his own battle gear

"Gate card open — _Power Depth_"

"I suppose you think you're clever using a command card, that sucks up 500 points from the opponents power level. But I have to you, I AM NOT IMPRESSED" snarled REN as he activated his battle gear ability

Marucho glared at Ren "I can't believe you Ren, I treated you like a brother and you stabbed me in the back, I'll never make that mistake again" he declared

Ren glowered back at him, as he tried to reason with the upset brawler

"It wasn't supposed to be personal, there are things at stake here that you wouldn't understand"

Marucho's fists clenched tight at his sides

"And what about Dan? How was lying to us about him not personal" he spat

Ren's face froze still, he shut his eyes as let out a small sigh. When he opened them, he pinned Marucho a frosty look, his voice held no remorse as he spoke

"Sacrifices have to be made for the greater good Marucho"

Numbness infused Marucho's body, his widened as he heard those words. He lowered his head as his body shook

"I trusted you Ren"

Ren gasped in shock at the icy tone of Marucho's voices, it was the first time he'd ever heard Marucho sound like that. The aquos brawler glared at him with newfound anger

"The brawlers welcomed you into their family! Battle gear ability activate — _Gigarth Hydrizer_"

The two bakugan fired their weapons at each other

'_Ren's life force zero'_

The brawlers ran down to Marucho's side, just in time to hear Ren start speaking to him

"I knew you were good Marucho, but I had no idea you were that good" he praised with a small smile

Ren's bakugan suddenly jumped onto his shoulder and started to speak

"You got lucky today, but it will not happen again"

Jake jumped in surprise "Woah, did that bakugan just speak" everyone just ignored him as Ren turned serious

"Marucho, we can still be friends. Leave the brawlers and come with us" he urged

Shun tensed alongside Fabia, they were both ready to intervene should the Gundalian try anything. Ren watched them wearily

"You must take me for a fool, if you think that I would ever go with you"

Ren looked at the aquos brawler in surprise

Marucho gave the Gundalian a hard stare as he his vision started to blur

"I would never leave my family for a dishonest poser like you, you got me! "he yelled. Letting the tears, he could no longer hold back flow down his cheeks

Ren lowered his head down in disappointment, when he held it up again his face was expressionless and his voice emotionless

"Very well, as of now our friendship is completely over Marucho" he told him as his body started to glow

The brawlers stepped back in shock as Ren transformed before them into his true form

"So, this is how. You really look" said Shun

Ren gave them all a hard stare as he spoke harshly

"The next time we meet, we will be enemies"

The Gundalian quickly teleported away, Shun tried to grab him but had just missed him

**Ren…**

* * *

_The Next Day_

Shun, Fabia and Jake found themselves sitting in the meeting room again, nothing but awkward silence surrounded them., as they all thought of the previous day's events

Jake looked at the door with worry, after the battle Marucho went straight home and no one has heard from him since

"I guess little Maruch is taking it pretty hard isn't he" he lamented

Shun inclined his head, his chin resting on his hand that were propped by his elbows on the table

"Yeah, he's been hiding in his house ever since" he said

Fabia lowered her gaze as she heard this

**Maybe I should go check on him** thought Jake

But just as he was about to get up, the doors to the room opened. And in came Marucho who was….smiling?

"I finally did it!"

The three of them blinked at the blonde confused by his happy mood

"Uh…finally did what Marucho?" Asked Shun

Marucho grinned as he touched his bakumeter to materialise Akwimos

Shun tilted his head to the side, bewilderment in his eyes

"I don't understand, what's the big deal about Akwimos?"

Marucho beamed at the question "Just take a listen" he said as he poked the digital bakugan

"Cool as the rule dude"

They watched in awe as the clone made jerking movements and talked

"Cool! How did you get him to talk?" questioned a mesmerised Jake

Marucho went to take a seat next to Fabia and explained "Ever since you mentioned how real bakugan speak, I've been working on a speech program for the digital ones"

Shun watched in amusement until he noticed something

"Why does he keep saying the same phrase over and over" he asked the young genius

"I programmed him to have a laidback personality, and this is what the speech generator came up with randomly"

Jake chuckled before turning to Marucho "Well it looks like you're in better spirits buddy"

Marucho grinned "Well we have Gundalians to fight, I can't stay depressed forever" he said. The blonde boy then noticed how quiet Fabia was and looked over to her, she seemed worried

"You're awfully quiet Fabia, what's the matter?" He asked her

Fabia gave a small jerk of her head in surprise, having been caught up in her own thoughts

"Oh, it's nothing" she mumbled quietly

Marucho urges her to speak by calling her name again

Fabia sighed as her gaze went to her lap, she spoke her thoughts out to them

"Sometimes I worry if you guys really believe me" bringing her eyes back to their faces, she blurted out "After being deceived by Ren how could you extend your trust so easily? Surely you guys must have a lot of doubts about me"

The three guys locked eyes with each other before turning back to the princess smiling reassurances to her. Marucho was the first to speak

"Don't worry about it, we trust you"

Surprise overtook Fabia's features at the response, Shun went on to explain their reasons to her

"When we saw how angry you got about bakugan being used for war, we knew you felt the same way we did"

Fabia looked to him; her expression guarded as she wasn't fully sure to believe him

"We're on the same side" the ninja told her in earnest

Fabia's face lit up, finally seeing that they were telling the truth, and she exclaimed out "Yes! We are"

Fabia then reached into her jumpsuit's pocket to put something onto the table

"I think it's the time to give you these"

The three boys stared in surprise

"Woah! Are these new bakugan!" Exclaimed Jake

"Meet aquos Akwimos, ventus Hawktor and subterra Coredem" the bakugan popped open as the princess introduced them

"These are the original bakugan"

Shun looked at Fabia, his expression serious "Are you sure?" He questioned her

Fabia smiled at him as she assured him "Of course, I brought them here from Neathia"

Jake started bouncing on his feet as happiness surged through him "Just what I always wanted. Awesome, real bakugan!"

The others laughed along with him. The three bakugan then proceeded to jump up and meet their future partners

Shun smiled to Hawktor as he introduced himself "Hello there, I'm Shun"

"Woah! You're a ninja?" Shun tilted his head at the sudden comment "That's right" he said, Shun watched as the bakugan started to babble away. **Ha ha, he certainly is talkative**

Jake started sweating with nervousness as he stammered his introduction to Coredem, but his anxiety melted away as Coredem spoke to him, and he was back to his jubilant self

Marucho bowed in politeness as he greeted Akwimos, the bakugan wasn't all that far off from the personality he imagined for the clone version

Fabia watched them all with warmth, as Aranaut leapt on her shoulder. "They're getting along better than I thought they would" he said to her

"I'm glad it did, I thought these bakugan would work well with them based on what Dan had told me" she replied

* * *

"Enjoy Bakugan Interspace while you can, it will be a while before you see the inside of it again"

* * *

The brawlers laughed with their new partners as they watched Marucho teach Akwimos how to be relaxed

The joy turned to confusion however as their bodies started to glow and they felt a tugging sensation

They soon found themselves no longer in the meeting room, but instead at the entrance of Bakugan Interspace

Marucho cried out "We've just been forced out of Bakugan Interspace! But how?"

"Allow me to explain"

The brawlers looked to their bakumeters as Ren showed up on the video feed and sneered at them

"At this moment Bakugan Interspace is now under my sole control"

* * *

**Hope you have enjoyed and please leave a review :)**


	13. Chapter 13 - The Secret Passage

**Disclaimer: I do not own bakugan**

**Please enjoy!**

* * *

**_Authors Notes: Summary of Previous Episodes_**

**After being forced out of Bakugan Interspace the brawlers found that they were the only ones who couldn't get in. However, thanks to their bakugan, Jake and Shun got into B.I and witnessed how the kids were getting kidnapped and brainwashed to become Gundalia's soldiers. They had tried to warn everyone, but their warnings went unheard. The brawlers then came up with a plan to take back B.I, however the plan went out the window when Fabia got forced into battle with Lena and Zenet, she would have been captured if Marucho hadn't rescued her. Although their mission was unsuccessful Marucho managed to create a backdoor, so now they can access Bakugan Interspace with alerting Ren and his team.**

* * *

_Bakugan Interspace_

"Princess Fabia is here?"

"Yes, these are the coordinates she logged. With at the palace"

In a back alley of Bakugan Interspace, a young man with teal coloured spoke to the pyrus bakugan next him. His blue eyes observing his surroundings as he started walking forward towards what seemed to be a main plaza

He and the pyrus bakugan looked up to the announcement boards which showed four profile pictures, one of which was the princess

"They look like wanted posters" examined the bakugan

The young man's mouth gaped in shock "What! I don't under—Why princess Fabia?"

His bakugan partner next to him although just as surprised as he was, he encouraged his partner to move on

"We need to find the princess, standing around here won't get us answers" he said

The stranger nodded and they both continued to walk around in hopes of finding something or someone that will give them those answers

* * *

_With Shun and Hawktor_

The two ventus partners had just teleported into the main hub of B.I, once they had fully materialised, they took a moment of respite

Hawktor jumped off Shun's shoulder to float in front of him to speak "That's five groups of kids we transported" although the bakugan sounded positive, Shun could hear a note of exhaustion in his words creeping through

**His energy must be starting to drain, especially after transporting back and forth so much,** thought the ninja

The raven-haired boy gave the bakugan a small smile before encouraging him "Yes, but let's not slow down. There are still many more left inside, who need to be rescued—Huh?"

Shun cut off suddenly as his vision caught movement in the distance, jerking his head in the direction that he saw it

"What's wrong Shun?" Asked Hawktor confused to what cut the ninja off suddenly

Turning to follow Shun's line of sight, they saw someone slightly older than Shun, walking on the pathway.

As Shun surveyed the scene he noticed that there was a bakugan floating alongside him

The ventus brawler narrowed his eyes, **Hmm could he be….?**

* * *

The stranger and his bakugan had been wandering for a little while now, the place seemed to be empty. Until they heard a shout

"Hey you, stop!" They then heard movement coming from behind them "Who are you?"

He glanced behind him and his blue eyes widened as let out a small gasp, turning around he said "You're from the video"

"Linus perhaps the—" "Huh, another Gundalian"

The boy, Linus, ignored that statement as he started to question the raven-haired human

"Tell me are you working with princess Fabia?"

Shun scowled and his eyes narrowed at the stranger. His tone wary "Whose asking?"

Linus remained calm as he spoke clearly "I'm Linus Claude, a castle knight from Neathia"

He then raised a up to the bakugan hovering beside him "Let me introduce my partner bakugan, his name is Pyrus Neo Zipzam"

"A castle knight!"

Shun's eyes flickered curiously to Hawktor, as the bakugan looked at Linus and Neo in awe. **Castle knight?**

Linus looked at Hawktor, recognition dawning on his features

"If memory serves, you're one of the bakugan that the princess took with her on her mission"

Hawktor straightened (as much as he could in ball form anyway) as he respectfully introduced himself "That is correct I am ventus Hawktor. At your service sir"

Shun who had quietly watched the exchange quickly turned to Hawktor, a line etched between his brows as he spoke with uncertainty, giving Linus a flickering glance

"Wait, are you sure we can trust this guy?"

During the discussion, they remained unaware that they were being watched

"Hey Ren, you should come and look at this"

"Ha, so much for your air tight security system, smart guy. Epic fail" snarked Sid, as he , Ren and Jesse watched the security feed

Ren's mouth set into a hard line, as his golden eyes glared at the screen

"You are always causing me headaches, Shun"

"Why do you want to see Fabia?" Questioned Shun, his eyes still flickering with distrust towards Linus

Linus looked at the human, his eyes pleading as he implored him "I have something for her, but it's very important that I give it to her in person. The fate of Neathia is at stake"

Shun looked back at him, his expression unreadable. The ventus brawler took a deep breath as he lowered his head. "Very well" he finally said as he sensed no malice from the knight

He opened his eyes and he beckoned Linus to follow him as he started walking "This way"

They were stopped short however

"Look at them scurry, just like a couple of giant rats"

Shun and Linus quickly halted at the voice, turning their head upwards to the top of a nearby building, to find Ren and Jesse staring down at them

Ren sneered at them "Tell me, was it Marucho who found a way in"

Shun's muscles tensed as he yelled out "Ren"

Ren just gave the ninja a cruel smirk, before giving a quick balance to the unknown stranger

"I don't recognise your friend" he said sounding curious

Linus blinked at the two newcomers "Those guys are—" "Gundalians" finished Neo

Ren tilted his head in response "Very good, and I presume that you're from Neathia" he stated

"Now that we know of our cast of actors, what do we do with them" spoke Jesse, although the answer seemed to be clear as he threw a bakugan into the air before catching it

Linus turned his head quickly to Shun, speaking urgently "Quickly, you have to get me to the princess!"

Neo however intervened at that moment, having different thoughts at mind as he called out Linus' name

Both Shun and Linus turned to him, their eyes questioning, as Neo started to speak with a righteous tone

"We are of the castle guard; it is not in our nature to run from battle. We must stand our ground"

"I am not running!" Rebuked Linus sounding defensive, a flicker of annoyance in his eyes at the implication

"We are here because fate brought us. We must fight this out to the bitter end, for better or worse" pressed Neo

The bakugan's words seem to have brought out a passion in Jesse, as his eyes started to gleam, and he cried out in glee. Putting a hand to his heart and the other outstretched in front of him, with book in hand, he pronounced

"Ah fate, at times it is powerful and at times so fragile. Like the wind it is fleeting and so beautiful"

Rolling his eyes in annoyance, Ren subtly stepped away from the his overly dramatic teammate

Linus sighed, knowing that his partner had a point. He inclined his head to Shun inquiringly

"I never got your name"

"My name is Shun, and any ally of Fabia is an ally of mine" the ninja told him, giving the knight a small nod. " I would be honoured to join you in battle" he told the Neathian as he turned to him

Leon had an expression of relief on his face as he exclaimed "The honour is all mine" he said, eyes burning with gratitude

* * *

'_The bakugan battle between Linus and Shun versus Jesse and Ren will now begin. Bakugan field open!'_

Linus started the turn first

"Gate card set. Bakugan brawl, bakugan stand" "In the name of Neathia I will take down every last evil Gundalian"

"Just like the dimming of the theatre lights, the bells signal the beginning of act one. Bakugan brawl, bakugan stand – Rise Ventus Plitheon!" "I'm about ready to ring some bells of my own"

"Bakugan brawl, bakugan stand – Go Ventus Hawktor" "I'm ready to pound some Gundalians into the ground"

"Bakugan brawl, bakugan stand – Now Darkus Linehalt!" "Arghh!"

Jesse beamed as he gestured his hands wildly around him "Ahh, with a cast like this, we are surely in for an epic performance today" he announced before activating the ability card _'Fly Slasher'_

Linus quickly countered it with his own ability _'Ba Arrow'_. Which sent red beams towards Plitheon

Plitheon moved to get out of the way, once at a safe distance he snarled "You'll pay for that"

Jesse grinned "Ah I do love a worthy foe" "Are you going to invite them for dinner, or prompt the next attack" impatiently hissed Plitheon

Jesse closed his eyes as he subtly rebuked the violent bakugan "Ah Plitheon, let us not forget that _haste makes waste_. Consecutive ability activate '_Hyper Verde'_"

Neo and Hawktor tensely watched as Plitheon's wings glowed before green arrow-like feathers started to surround them.

"And now '_Fly Destroyer'_" Plitheon sent out a large beam of energy, just as the arrows rained down on the two bakugan

"Hawktor!" yelled Shun as he watched their bakugan's power levels drop

Quickly, thought Linus as he activated an ability card _'Orb Shield'_

A protective orb surrounded the two bakugan

Jesse gawked in surprise, not expecting the move

"Wha? What's this?" he stammered

"The ability absorbs all of the opponents attacks and it reflects them back at them" explained Linus,

his eyes defiant as he stared back at Jesse who clenched his jaw at him. "I hope you're enjoying this taste of your own medicine Jesse"

Shun nodded his head in gratitude to the Neathian "Thanks for the save"

Linus shook his head "It's no problem Shun. I remember your name now, I thought it was familiar" he said suddenly

Confusion crossed Shun's face at the statement, **Familiar? The wanted posters maybe…**

On seeing the look the corners of Linus' mouth quirked up sheepishly as he explained himself "Yes, from Daniel, he speaks very highly of you"

Shun blinked at the sentence. But before he could speak, Ren laid down an ability card. Focusing

Shun back to the battle as he activated his own

"Ability activate _'Ninja Defence, Wild Wind Dance'_"

This blocked Ren's _'Bolting Vibra' _attack. Shun gave Ren a hard stare and gave him a warning "Leave

the children in Bakugan Interspace alone Ren"

Ren gave the ninja a cold smirk as he gave his response "Or what Shun"

Plitheon growled as he watched the other bakugan battle

"Jesse! Why are we just standing here, let me take them down" complained the ventus bakugan

"Patience let us not upstage our co-star" replied the sandy haired Gundalian. However, his actions spoke differently as he activated his bakumeter

'_Ready Vilantor Gear'_ "Battle gear boost"

"Battle gear?" commented Linus, having never heard of the term. He watched as the gear attached itself to Plitheon

Jesse grinned as he activated the battle gear ability

"You're going down" shouted Plitheon as his attack hit Neo

"Neo!" worriedly yelled Linus

"What? All out of tough talk Shun" sneered Ren "Ability activity _'Razen Breakor'_"

Shun's fists clenched as he watched Linehalt attacked Hawktor

"Here's a little something extra" _'Ready Boomix Gear'_

"Alright battle gear boost"

A large cannon attached to Linehalt, Ren raised his hand out and bellowed out to the bakugan "Come on! Go now Linehalt!"

"Watch out Hawktor" warned Shun

Hearing his human's warning the ventus bakugan ignored the pain he was in and flew closer towards Neo. The pyrus bakugan was too dazed to move from Plitheon's attack

Ren wasn't letting up his attacks. He activated Linehalt's battle gear ability '_Boomix Lock'_. Linehalt fired his cannon at Neo

Hawktor sped up to go even faster, putting himself in front of Neo to protect the vulnerable bakugan. Linus activated a quickly activated his gate card

"Gate card open '_Explode'_"

Ren's eyes widened in shock as a second barrier surrounded their opponents bakugan. "The _Boomix _was deflected?" He gasped

"'_Explode'_ nullifies an opponent's ability and brings the power levels of all bakugan on its side back to their power levels" explained Linus, inwardly sighing in relief at having used that gate card. '_Explodes_' barrier soon shimmered away

Jess opened his book and started to wave his other hand around "This mysterious new cast member has me wondering what his motivation is" he said as he activated an ability '_Ghost Storm'_

"Who cares, my motivation is to destroy" growled Plitheon as his body started to glow green, his power level increasing. He charged towards the two bakugan

"Ability activate '_Power Shaker'_" shouted Linus and another orb like barrier surround his and Shun's bakugan

Plitheon crashed right into the barrier, knocking him out

Jesse gasped his partners name out as he watched him go back into ball form. Clenching his jaw briefly before muttering "That bakugan is…."

**Powerful **thought Shun, as he watched. **Me and Hawktor haven't been able to good hit in on our opponent, but he just took one out with a defensive ability**. Shun gave a side glance to his teammate, **Just who is this guy?** He wondered

Ren drew his lips back in a snarl, before commanding Linehalt to attack. The darkus bakugan fired his '_Boomix'_ cannon again but it was no use

"If you're the Gundalian's mightiest then maybe we don't have much to worry about" Neo, his strength now fully recovered

Ren's eyes narrowed at those words "Oh yeah! We'll see about that" he gritted as he pulled out another battle gear ability

"_Boomix Dimension"_

Linehalt's power levels rose, whilst Neo's and Hawktor's decreased. Neo tilted his head whilst huffing "This will be interesting" he said as he watched the darkus bakugan fire a purple beam

Just as the beam was about to hit '_Power Shaker_'s protective orb it disappeared. Hawktor blinked in confusion "It disappeared?"

A flicker of purple appeared in the corner of his vision, just as he turned his head, pain overwhelmed his body

Linehalt's attack somehow entered the protective orb

Shun and Linus watched with horror as the orb exploded, their bakugan's shouts could be heard through the smoke cover, but it was too dense to see them

"Hawktor are you okay" Shun yelled out, hoping for some answer from his bakugan

Though reluctant, Linus had to admit that it was a good move

"That was an ingenious move right then, transporting the attack like that"

Hawktor suddenly broke free from the cloud cover, but not in the best shape as he was heading for the ground

"That one hurt" groaned the bakugan as he turned into ball form

'_Shun's life force sixty percent'_

The smoke cover finally cleared up, revealing Neo, his arms still braced across his chest from protecting himself

"He didn't fall!" Shouted Ren in anger

Linus turned his head to the Gundalian as replied to him Cooley "You'll need something more powerful than that to take down Neo. Ability activate '_Metal Destruction'_"

Neo's body started to burn bright as he flew higher into the air before hurtling into Linehalt, causing the darkus bakugan to fall and revert to ball form

'_Ren's life force forty percent'_

Ren gawked as Linehalt bounced near his feet, stammering as he looked back to the pyrus bakugan "Wha—What power?"

Neo returned to ball form as the first round has finished, Linus smiling as he caught him

**This act has gone on for too long**, thought Jesse

"To be pulled from the stage and the performance like some kind of _bit player. _In this second act they'll see that I'm a major talent" he said as he pulled a card from the pages of his book

"Gate card set! It's time to reign the stage, bakugan brawl bakugan stand — Rise Ventus Plitheon"

Both Shun and Linus sent their bakugans back out in response, with Ren following shortly

"Ability activate '_Slag Tornado'_"

Plitheon fired lasers towards the opponents bakugan, causing their power levels to decrease

The two bakugan slowly descended to the ground and landing on their knees

"Get up Hawktor, ability activate '_Ninja Defence: Wild Wind Dance'_"

Hawktor's attack raised their power levels back up, whilst Plitheon's decreased

Linus went to back up the human "Ability activate '_Baw Arrow'_". Neo directed a red beam at Plitheon, sending the Gundalian bakugan flying

"Battle gear boost! Battle gear ability activate '_Boomix Lock'_"

Shun quickly countered Ren and Linehalt's attack

"Ability activated '_Sky Fang Cyclone Soar'_"

A green wind like aura surrounded Hawktor as he dodged Linehalt's attack, his speed increasing

The battle had started to get intense as neither side were willing to back down

"The final act is upon us! Ability activate '_Gravity Mine'_"

"On your knees Neathian swine!" yelled Plitheon as his power level increased

Neo and Hawktor felt their bodies be pulled to the ground, they tried to fight against the force but were unable to. They crashed into the ground below

Ren smirked at the turn of events. "Here we go, battle gear ability activate '_Boomix Dimension'_"

Shun made another counter using the ability '_Ninja Defence: Spiral Twister'_

"I won't fall for that again" grinned the raven haired, hoping to use the ability to dodge Linehalt's attack

Linehalt's attack appeared from above, despite Shun's attempt to avoid it, the attack managed to hit Hawktor's side. Somehow it worked in the ninja's favour as the attack sent him spiralling into Linehalt

Linehalt grumbled with displeasure as he reverted to ball form "Lucky shot"

'_Ren's life force zero'_

"What an exquisite ballet of pain and destruction, now it's our turn to join in" exclaimed Jesse

Plitheon put a talon to his forehead, "A ballet? Seriously" muttered the bakugan, annoyed with his partner's theatrics

"Ability activate '_Hyper Verde'_"

Plitheon screamed with pleasure as he attacked Hawktor

"Hawktor!"

'_Shun's life force zero'_

"That was the breaking performance of the year" cried out Jesse, revealing in his victory

"Ability activate _'Force Alive'_"

Plitheon groaned in pain as his life force started transferring to Neo

Jesse nodded in acknowledgment to Linus' play

"Well played sir" he said before scowling at the Neathian

"But I have a little surprise left, you could call it a…twist ending. Gate card open _'Gear Barricade'_"

Shun frowned, remembering that this ability was what helped take down Fabia, he called out a warning to Linus "Uh oh, that command card is linked to his battle gear"

Linus jerked his head to Shun in shock at those words

"Battle gear boost, battle gear ability activate '_Vilantor Gear Nirvana'_"

"Oh No!" yelled Neo as his power level went down

Linus' body froze "If I lose this round…I will lose Neo, and of course the element" he whispered

"It's time for you to exist stage left. There is no encore left for you because…." Exclaimed Jesse as he raised his hand up to Plitheon

"This is the end" yelled Plitheon as he fired at Neo

Linus screamed out to Neo, his body moving on its own. He started running to where his partner had fallen, his senses shut to his surroundings as the arena started crumbling.

"Linus!" Shun shouted out the Neathian to get him to stop, it wasn't safe

As Linus got closer to Neo, the ceiling above him started to break down

An expression of terror overtook Shun's face as he watched a large boulder fall on top of Linus, a large dust cloud forming at the impact

"LINUS!" "Shun wait!"

The ninja found Linus, alive thankfully, amongst the rubble. Quickly kneeling to him, the ninja examined his wounds. The Neathian was badly hurt

Linus' body flared in pain, slowly he opened his eyes to see Neo above him. The bakugan also bared serious injuries

Neo hung his head, his voice apologetic as he spoke "I'm sorry…Linus". The pyrus bakugan passed out as he succumbed to his injuries, reverting once more to ball form

With a trembling hand, Linus reached out as far as his strength would let him

"Neo" groaned the young man, his vision starting to blur. Blue eyes flickering with shock as Neo shock as Neo suddenly stopped falling towards him, going still for a few moments before heading off in another direction

Shun turned his head in surprise and watched as Neo went into Jesse's awaiting hand. The Gundalian had a pleased look on his face as he held tight the bakugan

'_Linus' life force zero'_

'_Battle over! Winner Jesse and Ren!'_

Ren crossed his arms over each other as his gaze went to his teammate

"Nice work Jesse" he congratulated

Jesse inclined his head in acknowledgment before looking at his newfound prize

"A bakugan from Neathia, what a wonderful trophy to win"

Linus and Shun could do nothing but watch as the two Gundalians teleported back to Gundalia

Fear clawed at Linus' heart "No the—they have it. Neathia is doomed" he mumbled before passing out

Shun gripped Linus' shoulders, shaking him gently to rouse him

"Linus! Stay with me, Linus!"

"Linus, Neo? Where are you? Linu—Shun? Wha—Dammit we're too late!"

* * *

"Nus…Li…Lin…"

**What?**

"Plea….wak….Linus"

**Fabia?**

His eyes felt heavy as he slowly opened him. Bright light awaited him as they fully opened.

Blinking slowly, allowing his sense to come back to him. His eyes eventually adjusted, revealing two relieved daces above him

"Princess…Fabia, D-Dan?"

Fabia knelt beside the head of the bed quickly, gently grabbing one of his hands. She exhaled the breath that she had been holding in, standing next to her Dan sighed in relief as he saw that his Neathian friend was awake

Linus then became aware that there were others around his as well, and that he was resting on a bed in what looked to be a medical room. Shun was standing a little way off from Dan, and on the other side of the bed was two new faces that he recognised from the wanted posters, everyone's respective bakugan floated beside their partners

Fabia smiled "Linus, thank goodness that you're awake now" she said happily

"You had us really worried their pal" exclaimed Dan

Linus flickered between the two of them, their worry was evident in their eyes. He turned his head to Fabia, bewilderment in his eyes as he spoke "Where…am I?"

Fabia shook her head slightly

"Don't worry. You're safe with us now" she soothed him, before flickering her gaze between both Dan and Linus. "But what are you doing here?"

Dan's face fell, his expression sobering whilst Linus memories of recent events came flooding back to him

Terror overtook him, his hand in Fabia's tightened its grip causing her to look at him in surprise

"I am so sorry" begged the castle knight "I was supposed to protect it and give it you. But I…." Linus looked away, guilt overwhelming him as he finished his sentence "Lost it"

Fabia gasped, her breath caught briefly, she had to force the words out of her "You lost what!"

Torment shone in Linus' eyes as mumbled out to her "It was the element, and now…our enemies have it"

Both Fabia, Dan and their bakugan recoiled, their faces showing distress

Shun blinked in surprise at the reactions **Element?**

"Why did you say Neathia was doomed when they took Neo earlier?" questioned Hawktor

Questions surrounded the three brawlers as they listened to the two Neathieans and their 'no longer missing' friend

It seems that things just got a whole lot worse

* * *

**Hope you have enjoyed and please leave a review :)**

**Also here is a link to some fanart that I did, in reference to Ch2 the image of Dan and Shun. **

**www. zerochan 2910069**

**There maybe some more fanart coming soon, ****so please tell me what you think of them and the story so far. **

**Reviews are like cookies, so please keep feeding me cookies :)**


	14. Chapter 14 - The Element Part 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bakugan**

**Please enjoy!**

* * *

"I can't believe that Linus lost his bakugan Neo to the Gundalians"

Fabia collapsed into a nearby chair as she slammed her fist down on the table, fury seared through her. Drago to roll away quickly to avoid being flattened. She hissed "Especially with the element hidden within him"

Aranaut tried to quell the princess but it only served to anger her more "Hopefully the Gundalians don't realise what they have yet. Otherwise Neathia is doomed"

Dan, who was standing next to her with his arms crossed, glanced worriedly at her, absently biting down on his bottom lip. Shun kept glancing to him, noticing how quiet his friend was, unfortunately now wasn't the time nor place to speak about it

Jake looked between the two, hesitantly he spoke "Hey guys, just what is this element anyways?"

Dan gave Aranaut a questioning look, seeing that Fabia still had her head down and couldn't see, the haos bakugan nodded. Turning to the red head, Dan tried to explain as best as he could "Well I guess you could say that…it's basically the life force of Neathia"

"Life force?" echoed Jake

Fabia spoke up to explain further, there was still an edge of irritability in her tone

"The power that comprises the element is like nothing else in the known universe, it has the ability to turn the driest deserts into fertile farmland. It can bring happiness and prosperity, where once there was only sadness and despair. Unfortunately, such great power is also a source of temptation and there are those who wish to harness it and twist and distort it for their own evil purposes, the Gundalians are such a people"

Fabia took a deep breath after her explanation "So, does that answer your question Jake. Now you know why its so important that we get it back"

Jake nodded understanding how serious the element was "Yeah, if those Gundalians get their hands on it, Neathia is toast"

Dan shook his head solemnly "It's not just Neathia, its worse" he said, his mouth turning to a grimace. "The Gundalians won't stop until they rule-!"

_Beep – beep_ "Guys come quick. It's Linus!"

The brawlers ran into the medical bay to find Marucho trying to get Linus back into bed. The castle knight weakly trying to resist

The blonde looked at him worriedly, as he attempted to persuade the Neathian to calm down "Take it easy Linus, you need to rest"

Linus ignored the human as tried to get up again, determination in his eyes despite his body protesting "Leave me alone. I have to fix it, it's all my fault" he demanded

"What's going on?" questioned Shun as he took in the scene before him

Akwimos quickly floated in front of the group, stuttering in panic to them "Linus is f-f-freaking out! He says he's going to go after the Gundalians by himself and get the element back. Dude could barely stand up straight, tell him to chill out before he hurts himself will ya!"

"Are you kidding me?" "Marucho is right Linus, you need to rest right now" admonished the princess

Linus had managed to stand up, with Marucho's help, but he was breathing heavily. His face glistened with sweat as he responded back to the princess, his tone apologetic

"I'm sorry…princess, but not even…you can stop me"

The Neathian suddenly staggered, he quickly put a hand on the bed next to him to steady himself. Aranaut went closer to the knight, pleading to him "Linus please wait"

"To lose my partner bakugan and the element right in front of my eyes" The Neathian let go of Marucho's shoulder, clenching his fist and putting it over his heart he continued "I have to get them back before—Ugh!..."

Linus felt dizziness overwhelm him, the world started to tip around him. The knight braced himself for impact….It never came

He felt a pair of hands grip his body, lifting his head up his gaze met with Dan's. The pyrus brawler helped to steady the Neathian, giving him a once-over glance before smiling reassuringly at him "Don't worry Linus, we'll get them back for you pal" promised the human

Linus opened his mouth in surprise, as he saw a fire in Dan's eyes, blazing with determination

"It's not just for Neathia" interrupted Drago before he jumped of his brawler's shoulder and floated in the air, prompting everyone to look at him as he continued "The freedom of the entire universe is at stake"

A sudden glint caught Marucho's eyes, looking down to the ground to find the source, he bent down to pick it up

"What is this?" inquired the aquos brawler, in his hand was prism like pendent with a pyrus symbol marked on it

"It's an ID tag, worn by the castle knights. It's also a symbol of the brotherhood between battler and bakugan" answered Linus, his voice holding a hint of guilt in it

Dan looked at him, his eyes flickered with empathy momentarily. It disappeared as raw determination filled the brawler and he spoke up, his voice filled with conviction

"Linus, you can count on us. We will get Neo and the element back for you I promise buddy, right Drago" he looked to the dragonoid, already knowing that his guardian was on the same page as him

"Absolutely, we want to help. Neo is our friend as well" agreed the bakugan

Linus looked between the two, disbelief across his face as he stammered out their names. Before he put his head down in defeat, knowing that nothing would stop those two. "Very well, I trust you two" he sighed out. Giving a small amused huff as Dan's face beamed at his words

Marucho, Jake and Fabia cheered happily around them, relief filling them

Shun watched from where he leant against the wall, his expression sober as he spoke softly

"We had better move fast, it's only a matter of time before Neo's secret is uncovered"

* * *

After convincing Linus to rest, the brawlers went to their command area with Fabia staying behind to make sure that the castle knight fell asleep

Shun and Marucho were standing near the computers, watching Jake and Dan on the other side of room gesturing wildly to each other, talking animatedly. The two of them hit off well with each other

Marucho, finally for the first time that day properly took note of Dan's appearance, not having the time earlier to do it. The brunette looked tired but at least his skin wasn't ghostlike compared to the last time he saw him, he still had bandages around his forearms, there were new ones wrapped around his neck, however.

**What happened to him** Marucho thought sadly, before his eyes flickered to Shun. The ninja hadn't said so much as a word about their friends' sudden reappearance

The raven haired shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his arms were crossed over as he stared at Dan with an unreadable expression. He was having an internal conflict withing himself, part of him wanted to take his younger friend by the shoulders and knock some sense into him. The other part just wanted to grab him and never let go

His mind took him back to earlier, recalling their rushed reunion

_Flashback_

"Linus, Neo? Where are you?

Shun blinked, lifting his head up to see a dim glow through the dust cloud in the distance. A humanoid shape coming towards him, avoiding the debris falling from the ceiling

**That voice! It couldn't be** thought Shun, his grip on the fallen Neathian tightening in case it was an enemy. As the figure came closer, he could just make out their features, Shun's eyes widened in shock as he whispered out "Dan!"

Dan coughed as the dust entered his lungs, he kept once arm above to protect his head from falling debris as walked closer to the two, barely making out who they were

"Linu— Shun? Wha?"

He then saw Linus' unconscious form. Panic assailed him as he brunette skidded to the ground next to him, calling out the Neathian's name in worry

"LINUS!"

He relaxed a little at seeing the rise and fall of Linus' chest, indicating that he was still breathing. Until Drago called out to him, panic in his voice

"Dan where's Neo?"

The Pyrus brawler jerked ,, and he hastily started to scan his surroundings. He swore under his breath as he couldn't find the bakugan anywhere

"Dammit, we're too late Drago" he growled out

Shun stared at his friend in front of him, his mouth opened to say something, but no words came out, his mind having gone blank. Until he felt a sharp pain un his cheek, snapping him out of his stupor, turning his head to realise that Hawktor was the one who struck him.

"Shun we need to get out of here!" Screeched the ventus bakugan, Shun then became aware if the danger they were currently in. Now wasn't the time to sit around and chat

"You're right we need to get somewhere safe, Dan come on" he shouted as he got to his feet, Dan following suit. They both took one of Linus' arms and put it around their shoulders, heaving the young man up. Hawktor then teleported them out of the collapsing arena

_End Flashback_

They had given the others quite a scare when they arrived, but all that mattered was getting Linus medical attention

Marucho blew out his cheeks before finally speaking, unable to take the awkward silence any longer. He kept the volume of his voice low so that Dan couldn't hear them

"I can't take it anymore Shun, he's right there but why won't he come speak to us"

Shun drummed his fingers on his arm, closing his eyes as he answered "Because he's avoiding us, haven't you noticed Marucho"

The aquos brawler frowned, he had noticed. Not once has Dan spoken or looked at him or Shun, not unless it was serious or important, even then he kept very brief and never lingered, hardly giving them eye contact. Not even Drago would speak to them, every time they stood near Dan, he would roll into ball form and ignore them, but he never left Dan alone with them.

"He's…not still mad at us…is he?" Marucho asked the silent raven haired, his eyes clouding with sadness

Shun's shoulders dropped slightly, opening his eyes to look at Marucho, the ninja sighed "I would be surprised if he wasn't. After all, we basically told him to get lost"

Marucho looked down at his feet, guilt consuming him from within. They pretty much did tell him that, he took a deep breath before looking at Shun again

"Was it right? Telling Julie to stay away from Bakugan Interspace, I feel like we should have told her about Dan being here" he said

"It's for the best, if we did, she would have told Runo and Alice, they would have been on the first flight here. We don't know what Dan's been through, if we all ganged up on him, he would have been overwhelmed" reasoned Shun

Marucho nodded realising what Shun was saying "You're right. And there's too much going on right now as well, we need to take it slow"

Shun's mouth turned to a grim as he uncrossed his arms "First things first" he said as he started walking up to the table, coming up behind Dan's chair. Shun reached his hand out to touch the brunette's shoulder to grab his attention

_Whoosh_

Just then Fabia entered the room, a tired smile on her face

All of Dan's attention went to her immediately. He gave Jake a quick apology before rising from his chair and swiftly walking to Fabia. He never noticed Shun behind him

Shun slowly blinked, his hand still in the air. **Seriously**…. The ninja huffed putting his arm back at his side, as he glared looked over to the two

"How is he?" Asked Dan, his face showing concern

"Asleep now but he'll be fine" soothed Fabia, putting a hand on his shoulder

"That reminds me…" she mumbled; Dan having heard gave her a curious glance. Her brows furrowed, frowning briefly before turning to Dan with confusion in her eyes

"Why are you here anyways? I thought you were with Captain Elright" she said

Dan's face fell, he raised a hand to rub the back of his neck. Giving her a sheepish laugh, he told "Right, I have told you yet"

Fabia tilted her head to the side "Told me what"

Drago jumped on to Dan's shoulder suddenly, "Why don't we go somewhere private" he suggested in a hushed tone. He then gestured slightly with his wing(?) indicating that they had an audience

The two nodded and gave a small reassuring wave to the others, before quickly walking out the room and into the hallway

Marucho, Shun and Jake watched as their two friends and bakugan left the room

"Okay…." Muttered Jake

* * *

Dan waited until the door was fully shut before turning to Fabia, Aranaut had jumped onto the princess' shoulder to listen as well.

The bluenette shifted from one foot to the other as she waited on him to speak

Dan took a small breath, knowing that the princess wasn't going to take his news well, he then started to confess

"Elright sent me here to go after Linus and help keep Neo safe. The Gundalians were attacking the capital again, from both sides. Linus and Elright took one and I took the other, we managed to keep them at bay for awhile but…" his mouth set into a hard line and he balled his fists

Fabia wrapped her arms around her waist, not liking where this was going, she waited for Dan to continue

"The Gundalians broke through the first shield" he said finally. The Pyrus brawler watched as the girl's eyes widened and her face went white. Aranaut flustered in shock "What! But how?"

"They overpowered us" Drago told him "They used the children from here to boost their numbers, using them as soldiers. We managed to hold them off until the Captain contacted us"

Dan raked a hand through his hair "We lost contact with him just before we left, and then. Well…. You know the rest"

Fabia put both hands up to her face, tilting her back she wailed "Can anything else go wrong"

Dan and the bakugan gave her a moment to collect herself, the bluenette taking a series of deep breaths before removing her hands from her face

Her lips turned into a scowl as her shoulders sagged "There's nothing we can do about it now; we must focus on retrieving Neo from the Gundalian's hands. At least this time we have help"

She then tilted her head to Dan, her eyes softening "What about you?" Upon the confused look she received she elaborated waving her hand towards the door "How does it feel? Being back here, being around them again?"

Dan gave a small wince at the question, shrugging his shoulders putting his hands in his jacket pockets. His voice was soft as he spoke

"I…don't know, it's like I'm happy to see them, but…I'm…nervous or better yet scared" he faltered as he searched for the words to explain. "It's like I just freeze up when I'm around them, I can speak to them very briefly, but other than that…I just…."

The Pyrus brawler let out a small groan, raising his hands like Fabia earlier, he slumped against the nearby wall

"I just…I just don't know. I really don't"

Fabia looked at him with sympathy, she wanted to help but this was something that Dan had to do

Drago floated in front of Dan, nudging at his to get his human to look at him. Once he had his attention, he spoke

"You've been through a lot Dan; it will take time. We'll figure it out along the way"

Dan mulled over his guardian's words before nodding

"You're right Drago" he said as he pushed himself off the wall

"For now, let's just get Neo back"

* * *

**Hope you've enjoyed and please leave a review :)**


	15. Chapter 15 - The Element Part 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bakugan**

**Please Enjoy!**

* * *

_In Bakugan Interspace_

The brawlers waited until they had all fully materialised in B.I. Dan let go of Jake's shoulder, seeing as how Drago did not have the same teleporting ability as the Neathian bakugan

Akwimos jumped off Marucho's shoulder and spun himself around laughing "Ha-ha, hey touch down kiddies. What should we do now?"

"Keep our eyes peeled for a start" answered Shun

Fabia walked closer to Shun and Marucho "They wouldn't leave Neo right in the open, would they?" questioned the princess

Marucho was about to answer her, but just as he opened his mouth to speak, he stopped. Blinking, as he closed his mouth, looking around the taller two curiously.

"Uh…Dan? Are you alright?" asked the bewildered blonde

Fabia and Shun sent a look to each other before turning around to check on their friend themselves

Dan was oblivious to their stares, gawking at his surroundings his eyes sparkling in awe

"So, this is Bakugan Interspace, wow. You did a really great job Marucho"

The aquos brawler blushed at the compliment, his lips quirking up into a small smile. **That is right Dan disappeared when Bakugan Interspace was still getting created**

Jake put his hands behind his head, tilting it to Dan "When was the last time you were on earth Dan?"

The brunette put on hand on his hip, as his other hand went rested on his chin, rocking on the balls of his feet a little as he mulled over the question

"I think maybe…not since the frozen yogurt perhaps"

**Frozen Yogurt?**

The guys gave him a strange look, they never noticed the dreamy look on Fabia

Dan gave a quick shake of his head "Anyway let's go find Neo" he said before running out of the alley, not checking to see if the other brawlers were following

"Dan" shouted Shun, the ninja quickly running after the brunette not wanting to lose sight of him, the others quickly following them

"Dan slow down" "You don't even know where you're going"

Their shouts fell on deaf ears, luckily, they were catching up to him though

The pyrus brawler kept on running, his eyes flickering left and right looking for anything that could lead him to the missing Neo

A gold portal opened in front of him, Dan's face scrunched up in panic as he skidded to a halt. Stopping just inches from going through, until his friends crashed into him

"Wha!?"

_Thud!_

"Aww my back" groaned Dan, unable to move due to Marucho and Jake having landed on top of him. Fabia and Shun were quick enough to sidestep as soon as they went through, and luckily were not part of the dog pile

Dan heard Drago open from his ball form next to him, his own brown orbs opened, only to stare at…a battle arena?

"Hey what gives?" He questioned

"We got transported to a battle arena, but why?" said Marucho

"It's called a trap door; you pack of numbskulls"

Everyone turned their heads behind them, to find Sid standing in front of the arena's entrance, smirking at them

"Did you really think we'd just leave the gaping hole you put in our security system open" he sneered. His eyes wandered their little group before finally resting on Dan, his smirk dropped and confusion flashed in his eyes, before it turned into a mischievous glint. With a wave and a fake smile, he greeted him

"Well, who do we have here. It's my old pal Danny boy, long time no see"

Dan picked himself off the ground, keeping his eyes down as he brushed the dust of his clothes. He gave the Gundalian a nonchalant reply "Hello Sid"

Shun's eyes narrowed as he looked between the two of them "You two know each other" he stated

Dan gave him a fleeting glance before it settled on Sid, crossing his arms he gave a half shrug "Long story short: We brawled, he lost. End of story" he explained

Sid rolled his eyes at the comment "Really Dan, you gave me a broken nose"

"Oh yeah, that too…to be fair though you did break my rib"

Shun, Marucho and Jake looked at the Pyrus brawler in alarm, the ventus and aquos brawlers started to inch closer in front of their friend, protectiveness stirring in them

Sid snorted in amusement

"I take it you're not here for a reunion then" he jested to Dan, before turning to the rest of the brawlers, the mirth in his voice disappeared as he sneered at them "So, you must have all come here to get your precious Bakugan Interspace back"

The Gundalian then reached into his back pocket to pull something out and show it to them "Or, maybe you're here because of the secret this little guy's keeping locked up inside. That it, isn't it"

Fabia gasped as Aranaut opened quickly

"He's got-!" "Neo with him"

"Sid what are you doing!"

The brawlers looked up to see Ren watching them from the stands, glaring daggers towards Sid

"Oh great, Ren's here too. Who next Shakespeare guy" groaned Dan as he put a hand to his face, shaking his head

Sid twisted his upper body slightly to turn to his teammate, scoffing at him "Get lost, this is none of your business here Ren" he turned back to the group in front of him. Avoiding the venomous look that he received

Dan raised his fist at the Gundalian, a glowering look on his face "Give us back Neo now" he demanded

Sid tutted and shook his head to the wound-up brawler "Now, now Danny boy. If you want your little friend back, you'll have to come and get him"

The gundalian pointed his finger at Dan, challenging him "I demand a rematch Dan, you owe me"

"What the?" simultaneously gasped the brawlers, Ren gritted his teeth wondering what his ally was thinking

Dan quickly overcame his surprise, straightening his stance he agreed to the challenge. His eyes lighting up like fire

"Okay Sid, you want a fight you got it"

* * *

'_The bakugan battle between Dan and Sid will now begin'_

Fabia, Marucho, Jake and Shun stood in the stands watching the two brawlers below

"Come on and get him back Dan" murmured the princess as she watched her friend, anxiousness creeping in her voice

'_Bakugan field open'_

Sid grinned as he made the first move "Gate card set. Bakugan brawl, bakugan stand – Go Pyrus Rubinoid"

Drago opened his ball form from where he sat in Dan's palm. "He threw Rubinoid?!" he commented in surprise as the two expected to be battling Neo

"Hey! What's with the bait and switch you weasel" shouted Dan, growing annoyed with Sid's games

The Gundalian merely smiled at him as he held up Neo's ball form "What are you talking about" he spoke mockingly "I never said that I was going to battle you with Neo"

"What!" Dan shouted indigently from across the field

"Rubinoid and I have a score to settle with you two first"

The Gundalian bakugan growled as he stretched his wings out, making himself look bigger "We can't move forward until we crush you and Drago once and for all"

Sid narrowed his eyes at his opponents "We're both pyrus battlers Dan, you should understand _why_ I need to take you down"

"Sid" growled Ren as he watched from his spot by the arena entrance. **Now's not the time for this**

"Talk about a grudge" murmured Drago, his partner's lips quirked briefly as he joked to his bakugan "Pot calling the kettle black, or in this case, the bakugan"

"Shush you, now's not the time for your human sayings" huffed the dragonoid. Dan gave a small laugh before turning serious "Anyhow, we're going to have to take out Rubinoid first" "Which will force him to take out Neo in the next round" finished Drago

"Bakugan brawl, bakugan stand – Come on Pyrus Helix Dragonoid"

"I am going to make you pay for every spot-on comment you ever made to me. Ability activate '_Corundum Tusk'_"

Drago quickly flew around the arena, avoiding the red daggers that Rubinoid shot at him

"Ability activate '_Dragon Hummer'_" Drago's body glowed as he drew Rubinoid's power

"Do you really think you can take me down that easily" he told the ruby bakugan whilst his human activated another ability card '_Firium Tornado'"_

Jake and Marucho cheered as they watch Drago knock Rubinoid to the ground. The aquos brawler turned to Shun, eyes flashing with excitement

"It's been ages since I've seen Dan and Drago battle, I'd forgotten how lively they can be. Their battle strategy doesn't seem to have changed much" he exclaimed

Shun nodded in agreement, his eyes never looking away from the battle "Yeah, those two are still in sync with one another. Dan's passion for bakugan brawling hasn't faded whatsoever"

Their conversation ended as Sid opened his gate card, they watched as a red dome encased the field. Dan let out a groan of frustration as he and Drago watched Rubinoid's power level increase

"The command card _'Ruby Storm'_ not only ups Rubinoid's power level, but it also enables the activation of battle gear level 2" explained Sid, amusement in his eyes as he activated his bakumeter "So, buckle up kiddies"

'_Ready Destrakon Gear'_

The brawlers watched as multiple snake-like heads attached to Rubinoid, his power level increasing to 1000Gs

"Alright battle gear boost. Battle gear ability activate: '_Destrakon Gear Vickers'_"

Surprised, Drago took a step back as some of the heads detached from Rubinoid and circled around him. Pain shook his body as they attacked simultaneously with red beams, he barely heard Dan calling out to him

Rubinoid let out a malicious laugh as he watched his opponent's suffering

Drago opened his eyes "I won't give up" he panted out, fighting through the attack. "I can't let Linus down"

Rubinoid's extra heads turned to him curiously "What are you yapping about" inquired the Gundalian bakugan, eyes lazily watching his opponent

"I made a promise that I would get Neo back and I intend to keep it!" roared Drago, resolve getting stronger with every word he spoke

"We both do, now it's our turn" declared Dan keeping his eyes on the battlefield as he activated the bakumeter

"Battle gear boost!"

"So cool…" awed Jake as he and the brawlers watched a large cannon materialise onto the dragonoids back, it was the first time that they've seen the battle gear

"Let's go Drago! Battle gear ability activate '_Jetkor Delta'_"

Fists clenching tight, Sid drew his lips back in a snarl as he watched Drago's power lever rise higher than Rubinoid's

"We're not scared, go get him Rubinoid" "With pleasure"

Both bakugan fired their attacks at one another, Drago's overpowered Rubinoid, however. Overtaking the bakugan and destroying '_Ruby Storm's'_ dome

"You'll pay for that" cloaked out Rubinoid, panting hard from the attack

Drago watched from the air as one of Rubinoid's legs eventually causing the ruby bakugan to kneel. **He doesn't know when to give up** thought Drago before replying back

"In your dreams maybe Rubinoid"

"We'll see about that" growled the bakugan before Drago's last attack hit him

'_Sid's life force eighty percent'_

Sid gritted his teeth as he watched Dan and his friends cheer at their victory. "I don't get it. We hit him with a level two class battle gear ability"

Ren's gaze looked over to his teammate "Drago is very powerful" he drawled exasperatedly

"Pipe down! Who asked you!"

"Dan, now our chance" said Drago from his human's hands, reminding Dan why they were battling in the first place

The brunet nodded, expression turning focused as he declared out to Sid "I think that I'll throw first this time. Gate card set, bakugan brawl bakugan stand"

"Bakugan brawl, bakugan stand" "I'm coming for you Drago"

Fabia gripped the stand barrier tightly, standing on the balls of her feet as she leaned forward onto the barrier. Green eyes flashing with annoyance as she watched Sid throw out Rubinoid. **Why won't he show us Neo already** she thought agitatedly

"Consecutive ability activate: _'Scarlet Plate'_ and _'Red Deeper'_"

Drago tensed as he watched the red stones gather around him, already having experienced this attack before. **Uh oh, not this again** he thought as electricity stunned him, before Rubinoid's actual attack hit him seconds later.

The brawlers watched as the two bakugan's power levels took a massive turn

"It's a booster shield" observed Marucho "That means that his power is amplified several times over" he explained to the others

Dan was quick to pull out an ability card as soon as he saw Rubinoid readying another attack. "Ability activate _'Burning Reflector'_"

Drago shot out flames from his mouth which formed into a shield in front of him, absorbing the attack and sending it back to Rubinoid, giving him a taste of his own medicine

"Alright battle gear boost! Battle gear ability activate _'Destrakon Gear Brinell'_"

"Give up Drago you're finished" snarled Rubinoid as his extra heads shot beams at the dragonoid

Quickly throwing his arms up to defend himself, the Drago I'd quickly glanced back to his partner "Dan a little help" he haunted to him

"Yep, ability activate _'Hyper Helix Shield'_"

Drago's body started to glow as his power levels went up again

"No, no, no! Why isn't my attack working?" angrily cried out Rubinoid before getting hit

Sid tensed, body shook with fury as he bellowed "What's this, no way. We need to win this so we can return to Gundalian with a victory, and this trophy for the emperor". The gundalian reached into his jacket pocket absently bringing out Linus' closed ball from

Him and Ren watched with shock as their captured prize glowed briefly before turning from white to red Pyrus colour

"It's opened now?!" exclaimed Ren in surprise, he then noticed a strange smirk on Sid's face. **What's with him? **He thought as he watched Sid hold the bakugan up

"Can you feel that! It's coursing right through me"

Ren looked at him bewildered at the statement "What are you— ""Can't you see" interrupted Sid heatedly as he twisted round to glare at Ren

"The element! That's what this little guy has been hiding from us by staying locked"

Rubinoid looked down to his worked-up partner, attempting to calm him down "We don't need this Sid, I can beat Drago on my own" "Using it will guarantee a win" argued Sid

"Don't do it" desperately shout Ren as he stretched a hand to stop the blonde

"Bakugan brawl, bakugan stand — Rise Pyrus Neo Zip Zam"

Ren and the brawlers opened their mouths in shock as Sid threw down the prized bakugan

Sid watched enthralled "I can finally beat Drago" he whispered; joy turned to confusion however as Neo Zip Zam started to glow

"Huh? what's happening"

Everyone had to cover the eyes as the light the bakugan emitted grew brighter and brighter. Dan watched as Drago became enveloped in the light

"Drago!"

* * *

**Hope you have enjoyed, and please leave a review :)**


	16. Chapter 16 - The Element Part 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bakugan**

**Please Enjoy!**

* * *

"Ugh…" **What just happened?**

Drago slowly opened his green eyes, awareness coming back to him. All around him was a never-ending sky, the colours of what the original Vestroia's space was like

"What is all this?" wondered Drago as he looked around him

"At last, it is good to find a friendly face

Drago turned quickly at the sound of a relieved voice. His eyes widened upon seeing Neo Zip Zam standing behind him

"Neo! Thank the core you're alright" rejoiced the dragonoid. The feeling however was brief as he noticed that the Neathian bakugan seemed off "Neo, what's wrong?"

Neo looked at him tiredly, mournful as he spoke "Drago, I am afraid my time here is short now, I can only hold on for so long now"

Drago gawked, not believing what he was hearing "What? That cannot be, is this some sort of joke!" he choked out

Upon the sullen shake of Neo's head, Drago tried to make his friend see reason

"What about Linus and the element, Neathia! You cannot just leave them"

Sadness clouded Neo's eyes at the name of his partner, his heart aching. But he had no other choice

"Until now it has been my responsibility to protect the element, but the time has come for me to pass it on" lamented the Neathian "To this day I believed that it was fate that we met Drago, and I believe that fate played its hand once again today"

"Fate?"

"Yes" nodded Neo "Neathia needs a protector for the element. My mission is over, I can no longer be that guardian" giving Drago a sad smile. The element started to remove itself from his body and floated towards Drago "Which is why I am passing it on to you…"

Drago startled abruptly as his friend started to fade "What! Wait—Neo!"

"I can think of no other bakugan as worthy as you. Thank you, my friend. I am glad to have met you. Good luck Drago"

Neo vanished as Drago absorbed the element, the element's light consuming everything once again

* * *

Dan watched as the light started to fade, revealing his partner. The brunet stared in surprise as he took in the sight of bakugan's new appearance

"Wha? What just happened?" Drago breathed out as he looked down seeing his new body, the glow on him receding

"D-Drago? You've evolved again pal" gawked Dan, awe on his face. Before looking curiously at the card in his hand which had started to glow

Turning it upwards and bringing it closer, he saw that it had changed, and he read out loud the name written at the top

"Lumino Dragonoid!"

The Gundalians looked at the two in shocked stance, disbelief at what they were seeing

"What! Lumino Dragonoid, huh—but how? How did this happen, tell me? Tell me, how!" Stammered Sid, face contorting in rage

Ren understood straight away what happened "Neo made Drago evolve. I guess Neo did posses the element after all"

"Who cares if he's evolved, so what" snarled Rubinoid as he glared at Drago "I'm not through with him yet!" he declared as he started to surge towards Drago

Unfazed, Drago stood his ground, his new wings twitching slightly

"Kick it Drago! Ability activate _'Cross Fire'_" shouted Dan as he activated the new ability

Drago's four wings turned to fire, lashing out towards Rubinoid. Power level increasing at the same time

Rubinoid screeched with fury as he was sent back to ball form

'_Sid's life force zero'_

Sid growled in fury as he picked up the fallen bakugan "Argh! No way"

Ren glowered at him with disdain "Yes Sid, they got the element back. Nice play" he snarked before running through the arena exit

"Hey, it's not my fault" cried Sid as he followed the dark us brawler

The brawlers hurried down to Dan and Drago's side, awing at Drago's new form

Fabia gazed at his new form, wonder across her features

"I must admit I never expected this to happen" she said quietly to Aranaut "Me neither"

Drago shifted slightly, still unused to his new body. Not to mention the attention he was receiving at the moment

"I feel very strange now that the element is a part of me" admitted the Pyrus bakugan

Dan looked up to his partner's face, brown eyes full of concern at those words "How so, pal?" He asked him

"I feel…. tapped into the entire universe" he said, an uncertain undertone in his voice

**Hold on! Where's?** Dan realised that something wasn't right, quickly looking around he noticed someone missing

"Hold on a sec! Where's Neo?" he spoke frantically

The brawlers having noticed as well, also looked around. Upon seeing the somber look on Drago's face, she knew something was wrong

With a hand against her heart she steeled herself "Drago. Is he…?" She faltered not able to say the word

Drago closed his eyes, letting out as sigh as nodded. Confirming her suspicions

* * *

_Later, Outside of Bakugan Interspace_

"Sigh…. What a day"

Exhausted from the day's events, Dan collapsed down on the grass and closed his eyes. Drago rolled on to his chest, just over his heart watching him

The two of them had snuck away from the others, only letting Fabia know through a message so that they wouldn't worry. The two of them just needed a breather, ands that how they found themselves on a quiet grassy hill that overlooked Bayview's harbour

"Agreed" said Drago "It feels like we've done nothing but run around and battle. I'm starting to think that we should…" he trailed off, noticing that in the time that he spoke Dan still had his eyes closed. "Dan? Daaan? Dan are you listening to me!"

…nothing

Drago hurriedly closed into a ball and started rolling back and forth, building up speed. The dragonoid suddenly rolled forward

_Smack! _

Dan sat up, instantly alert. "What the hell Drago!" He yelled, wincing slightly as he brought a hand up to his chin

Drago huffed as he floated in front of Dan. "That's what you get for falling asleep. Honestly Dan, you'll catch a cold sleeping out here"

The human puffed out his cheeks before letting out a harsh breath "Yeah, yeah I was just tired" he grumbled half heartedly. Dan proceeded to bend one of his knees and wrap his arms loosely around it, his other leg staying stretched out. Looking at his partner, expression blank, he spoke to him softly.

"What about yourself, how are you holding up? New body and all, it's been awhile since you last evolved"

The bakugan settled on the human's knee before replying "Like I said before, strange. My new form, I'm getting used to, but having the element in me is…different"

Brown orbs blinked in confusion "Different? In what way?" asked Dan

"In a way, the energy feels similar to that of the perfect core. But it also feels…as though there's another presence, like it has a mind of its own. That's the best way I can say it" explained the dragonoid

Dan's mouth twitched slightly as he gave his partner a mirthful look "Another presence? Careful Drago, you don't want to be possessed or something. Those things never work out for us, and I don't think I can deal with an evil Drago. My heart just won't take it, I'd rather lose the will to live" he joked

Drago chuckled "If I were evil, then I would keep you locked in a tower just for all the trouble you've gotten me in to" he jested playfully

Dan laughed loudly, an image of him in a tower came to his mind with Drago guarding the door. "Oh _god_ no! You make it sound like I'm a damsel in distress, like out of a fairy tale"

As much as a bakugan could, Drago levelled Dan with a straight face, speaking with all seriousness "Dan, at this point from all the other times you've had to be saved. You _ARE_ a damsel I distress"

Eyes wide, the human sputtered indignantly. "Wha? —No! —What are you! —Tell me! Name one time!" He sputtered out

"Let me see now: The doom dimension, Wardington tower, the dimension tower alongside Baron and Ace. Hmmm, where else…" With every event Drago listed, the colour of Dan's face grew whiter and whiter. "Oh yes, multiple times on Neathia, such as nearly getting crushed, your midnight atta—!" "OKAY! I GET IT ALREADY! _Sheesh_, I'm sorry I ever asked"

The brunet lowered his head, burying it in his arms to try and hide his embarrassment

Drago gave Dan a few moments to calm down, before going on to a more pressing topic "So what's our next step. Is Fabia going to be joining us on our return to Neathia with Linus. We cannot stay here long; we have to go back"

The response he received was muffled, due to Dan still not removing his face from his arms. Drago couldn't make out what he was saying and told the human so. Dan turned his head to the side, still resting it on his arms but now able to speak clearly

"Fabs is actually speaking to the others right now about that, she's asking if they'll come with us. I already know the answer for Shun and Marucho, Jake I'm not to sure though. His expression than became pensive "I'm more concerned about Linus, I feel like shit. It's our fault we lost Neo"

Drago sullenly nodded as he thought back to when they told the castle knight about Neo's fate. As soon as they walked through the infirmary's door and saw the dried tear marks on Linus' face, they knew that the Neathian was already aware of his partner's fate

"I know, not only did we lose a good friend today…he lost something someone more, a brother"

Dan was silent, a far off look in his eyes, throat tightening up as old memories flashed in his head

"No one should have to go through that, ever" he whispered

**Yes, we both know full well what its like. To lose what matters to us** ruefully thought Drago as he watched his partner

"We should start heading back now, it's getting dark" he said eventually, however is appeared that Dan did not hear him "Dan!"

The boy startled as he was brought back to reality "Hmm, oh! Sorry Drago yeah let's get going". Uncrossing his arms, the brunet slowly stood up, his face scrunching up slightly, he brought a hand up to his temple pressing his fingers to it rub it, the action did not go unnoticed.

"Another headache again, you've been getting them a lot lately" pondered Drago, his concern showing through in his voice

"It's fine, it's just because I'm tired not enough sleep. Come on let's go, everyone is waiting for us"

* * *

_Gundalia_

"So, Drago has been infused with the element. You had best not waste any time capturing Dan Kuso and Drago, I want them both and the element. Don't make me regret giving you a second chance Ren"

"Y-Yes Sire"

An evil smirk formed on Emperor Barodius' face, despite the fact that Ren's team lost the element to the Neathians, he was quite pleased with the new development

**It would appear that my pet has become of even more value to me, soon. I will reclaim what belongs to me**

* * *

**Hope you've enjoyed and please leave a review :)**


	17. Chapter 17 - Fabia's New Obsession

****Disclaimer: I do not own Bakugan****

**Please Enjoy!**

* * *

"This is…Frozen yogurt" questioned Fabia as she gave the cold desert a strange look, poking it slightly with the pink plastic spoon it came with

"It does not look so bad princess" soothed Aranaut from her shoulder, although there was a hint of scepticism in his voice

After collecting their frozen yogurt, they found themselves a picnic table in the park. It was late in the afternoon, so it was pretty quiet, most people had gone home for the day

The sound of snickers reached her ears, a vein popping from her forehead as looked up from the desert to glare at the brunet sitting across from her

Dan was failing to keep the smile of his face as he watched his friend's reaction, his eyes twinkling with mirth as he spoke "Aww, come on Fabs, don't look at me like that"

With his own spoon he gestured to Fabia and her desert "Just try it, it won't eat you or anything. You have no problem battering the castle knights during training. But when it comes to frozen yogurt you hesitate, now that's just sad—OWW!"

Fabia hooked her feet around the chair legs, staring back at the frozen dessert. Pretending that she did not just kick Dan from under the table, she's a princess after all and princesses must have dignity.

Drago floated up to Fabia

"I know it looks strange, but human things do. Some of it isn't that bad though" he said

"Seriously! Just try it already!"

"GAH! FINE!" huffed Fabia as she quickly shoved a spoonful into her mouth, closing her eyes

…

…..

…... "Uh? Fabs?" "Princess?"

…...

"Congratulations Dan, you've broken her" "What! Aw snap! Fabia say something please"

"This is delicious!"

"Hey! Fabia what are you doing! Eat your own not mine as well. Seriously you need to slow down or else you'll get-!" "OW! MY HEAD" "…brain freeze"

* * *

**Hope you've enjoyed and please leave a review :)**


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